


Seraphim

by Tilltheendwilliwrite



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Death of a Parent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Smut, Soft Steve, Soulmates, тэг заменён на Don't copy to another site
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2019-09-22 07:55:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 35,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17055866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tilltheendwilliwrite/pseuds/Tilltheendwilliwrite
Summary: Lily Tangela’s life has never been easy. As the only child of a single mother, she spent her life moving from town to town, never spending more than a few years in any one place before they were up and gone again.Finally settled in New York as a newly minted officer of the NYPD, tragedy strikes when her mother loses the battle with cancer she’s been fighting for five long years, but more anguish is waiting for her at home when Lily returns to seek solace in the arms of the man who’s supposed to love her.Unable to handle the betrayal on top of her already insurmountable pain, Lily runs and breaks the one promise her mother had drilled into her since the moment her father left when Lily was three years old.Never, ever let anyone see her wings.But when Steve Grant Rogers, Captain America himself, finds a fallen angel in the middle of the night in Central Park, he isn’t about to let her fly away from him any time soon.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Angst. Language

## Chapter One

* * *

Tears streamed down her face, ribbons of sorrow, showcasing her broken heart as Lily Tangela opened the door to the apartment she shared with her boyfriend, Michael. She had received the worst possible news tonight and needed the comfort only he could provide.

Her mother, her beautiful, sweet, wonderful mother had died. The cancer she'd been fighting for years had finally taken her life in a long-awaited, yet still much too sudden way.

The news had come only an hour into her shift, seeing her breaking down in her Captain’s office. A new officer for NYPD, Lily was just settling into her career, hadn't yet been assigned a partner, and now with this tragedy, she was being told to take whatever time she needed to grieve and bury her mother. It was the worst thing that could have happened.

Her sob was soft as she pushed open the door and stumbled to a stop. The table before the window was set for two. Candles glowed. A wine glass, one of a pair, had a smear of ridiculously red lipstick on the rim.

It was eleven o’clock at night, and Lily was supposed to be working the graveyard shift.

“What the fresh hell is this?” she whispered, padding into the room without bothering to shut the door as she set her purse and phone down.

In the tiny apartment there was no more than a dozen strides to the bedroom, but the sounds from within hardly registered over the pounding of blood in her ears. Grunts, groans, a feminine voice calling her boyfriend's name grew louder as she shoved the door open enough to see the skank floundering above her boyfriend.

“You son of a bitch.”

All motion stopped with the cold reverberation of her voice. It was a damn good thing she'd changed out of uniform and left her service revolver at the precinct. Lily wasn't sure what she would have done if she’d been armed.

“Lily!” Michael gasped, staring at her with wide eyes. “You… you were working late I thought.”

“Clearly!” she snapped. Then the skank turned her head, and Lily stumbled backward a step. “Jenny!?”

The woman she considered her best friend looked at her with teary eyes. “This isn't how we wanted you to find out.”

Lily took a step in retreat. “I guess I know why you didn't answer when I called.” The tears which had dried up began to flow freely again.

Michael scrambled up and dragged the sheet with him, leaving Jenny clinging to the duvet. “Why are you back, Lil? What's wrong? What happened?”

She shook her head, a hard bark of laughter escaping her with his sudden concern. “Doesn't matter now does it?” She turned sharply on her heel and ran out the door. Two voices rang out behind her calling her name, but she was in no mood to listen to their excuses.

A sob tore from her chest as she hit the stairwell and raced for the roof. She couldn't be here. Couldn't listen to their excuses. Couldn't bear to look at them. Not now. Not with her mother's death tearing her in two.

She needed freedom. Space. The ability to think in a quiet place to grieve, and exploded onto the roof like a bullet. Long strides sent her racing for the ledge, and she leapt from it with a hard push like an Olympic diver. Dressed in leggings and a racerback tank top, she let herself freefall, feel the air race past her face before the tingle along her shoulder blades spread down her spine. The wings she'd long hidden from the world unfurled behind her.

They caught the air, lifted her up into the night, and took her soaring over the city. Her sobs echoed between buildings, a symphony of grief. Not even the joy of flight could offset the sorrow, her pain becoming a physical ache in her chest, making it nearly impossible to stay aloft.

The dense foliage of Central Park appeared like a dark scar on the brightly lit city, and she made for the trees. There was a small secluded clearing near the lake she figured should be empty this time of night. A quiet place to think and cry and wail.

Her landing was less than graceful though. She stumbled over the uneven ground, one wing slammed into a tree, and she fell to her hands and knees while her wings crashed down in a heap of feathers behind her.

It had been a while since she'd last flown, but that mattered little tonight.

With a ragged breath, Lily let herself break.

***

Night jogging had become a necessity for Steve. All too often people recognized him when he ran during the day. They would flag him down to chat, take pictures, and ask for autographs. That was all great and fine, part and partial to the job, but it made getting his run in difficult.

Nights in the park were quiet, still, and calm. No one bothered him, and the only time someone had tried to mug him had been more amusing than dangerous. The mugger had been handed off to the mounted patrol with a warning to get his act together. If he tried it again, Steve might not go so easy on him.

So when he came to the little clearing near the lake only to find a fallen angel, he was - to say the least - surprised.

Knelt in the center of the glen and bathed by moonlight, her hands covered her face, and she cried for all she was worth. Great heaving sobs tore out of her causing sympathetic pain to flare in his heart. Hair as black as the night above swept her shoulders, tangled now most likely from the wind, but it was the wings lying limp behind her which held him enthralled.

The purest white, like newly fallen snow, appeared so soft and shimmered slightly in the dappled moonlight. Little tufts of down fluffed along her shoulders, while the large primary feathers were nearly as long as his leg. He couldn't even imagine the weight she had to carry those wings were so big.

Quietly he moved closer, crouched before her unheard over her sobbing, and gently touched her arms. “Angel?”

Her head snapped up, surprise and fear washing across her face. Then those giant wings swept up and around, headed straight for him.

Steve grabbed each one high on the arch of the upper ridge, holding but not squeezing, afraid to hurt her.

“Wait!” he barked. “I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help!”

Her eyes flashed a vibrant amethyst. “A likely story!” Her fist shot out, aimed straight for his jaw. Then she halted it mid-flight when her eyes widened in sudden recognition. “You're… you’re, you're…”

“Steve,” he supplied for her, smiling gently and flexing his fingers, unable to believe how soft her feathers were.

She swallowed hard and tugged gently to get him to let go. “I'm so sorry, sir. I would never have- had I known- I didn't mean-”

He released one wing to close his hand over her mouth. A quick glance showed the department issue tank top with the NYPD logo. No wonder she’d called him sir. When he was sure she would stop her nonsense apology, he took her by the elbows and helped her to her feet.

The wings rose up and settled at her back, arching above her head while her primary feathers dragged behind her.

“Damn,” he whispered. “How do you manage those?”

She shook as she brought one forward and curved it around them both. “They're full of air pockets, like a bird's. They're not as heavy as they look.”

They were beautiful, gleaming brightly in the moonlight, but the insides were dark, not black but what colour they were he couldn’t tell. When he managed to focus back on her face, Steve frowned. “Are you alright, miss…?”

“Lily. It's Lily.”

“Lily.” He gently touched her cheek. “Why are you crying, Angel?”

Her shaking intensified. “Rough night,” she whispered, glancing up at him as she wrapped her arms around her middle.

“You want to talk about it? I’m a good listener,” he offered.

She stepped back, wings flaring a little, spreading out from her spine in a clear sign of distress. “I’m not… I don’t…” Her breath shuddered out, and fresh tears flowed. “You don’t know me!”

Those enormous wings lifted and flared open with her cry. They were even larger than Steve had thought, but he only stepped forward and took hold of her hands to bring to his heart. “I know you’re a dame in trouble. I know you’ve had a bad night. I know you need someone to talk too. I’m not going to leave you alone in the park at this time a night when you're clearly upset.”

She stared up at him in shock.

He decided he may as well break the ice by acknowledging the elephant in the glen, and released one hand to reach slowly for her left wing. He eyed her questioningly, waiting for permission before he ran his fingers over the inner edge of her feathers. The arch and outer edge glowed a silvery white in the moonlight, but those inner feathers, the ones he touched, the colour was indiscernible. “How do you function with these? Keep them hidden? I’ve never heard anything about the Angel of New York,” he said quietly. How in the hell was she a police officer with those wings?

They snapped back behind her and disappeared. “That’s how.”

Suddenly she appeared much smaller, almost delicate, but there was a core of strength within her, he could tell. She didn’t swipe at her tears. Didn’t seem ashamed by them as some people would be. Her head was up. Her shoulders back. She looked confident, even with red-rimmed eyes and tear streaked face.

“Neat trick,” Steve murmured, smile still soft.

“My… my mom…” Her face just crumbled, followed by her body as she collapsed toward the ground.

Catching her against him, Steve held her on her feet. “Hey, hey now. C’mon, doll face. It can't be all that bad.”

“Found my boyfriend… cheating with… my best friend,” she sobbed against his shirt.

“Oh, shit. That's gotta hurt.” No wonder her heart was so broken.

“I went home early, caught them in the act,” she whimpered, the sound pitiful.

“Angel,” he sighed, smoothing down her hair. “They’re not worth this.”

She gave a half-hearted laugh and nodded. “Oh, I know, but...” She pulled away to look up at him.

Steve stared down at icy blue eyes, no longer the soft purple of her angel self.

The devastation on her face intensified when she whispered, “I went home early to tell him… my mom died.”

He was sure all the colour must have drained from his face. “Oh… oh, Lily.” He instantly gathered her to his chest. Steve held her tight as her sobbing intensified.

When her knees buckled, he swept her up in his arms. “You're coming home with me, Angel.”

“Why are you doing this? You don't know me?” she whispered.

“Because you need help, Lily. Help’s kinda what I do,” he smiled, heart hurting when she curled closer. “I could ask you the same. You don't know me, yet you seem to trust me.”

“Don't need to know you. I _know_ you, Captain. Who wouldn’t trust Steve Rogers?”

He chuckled a little as he made his way toward the tower. “You a fan, Angel?”

“As much as anyone, I guess.”

“Way to bruise a guy’s ego,” he muttered.

She snickered softly before sobering and falling silent.

“Will you tell me about your mom?”

“Why?” she asked.

“I’d like to know. I lost my mother when I was still a punk kid. It helped, a little, to remember the things I loved best about her.”

She took a shuddering breath. “She was… beautiful. Inside and out. Kind, generous. She loved books. The woman read,” she shook her head, “everything. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was twenty-one. The doctors gave her a year. She held on for five.”

“Strong,” Steve said.

“A will of iron,” she agreed.

“Just the two of you?”

“Yeah. Dad was gone by the time I turned three. We moved around a lot. I think that's why her cancer went unnoticed until it was too late.” Lily fell silent again, her heart beating hard against his as more tears dripped from her chin. “We moved here to be closer to the right doctors. She was my world.” She turned her face into his neck and cried out her pain.

Steve could only walk on, comfort her with quiet, nonsensical words. By the time they'd reached the door of the tower, her tears had ended, her breathing had evened out, and she'd gone limp in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder.

“Captain?” Geoff the night guard frowned. “Do you require assistance? Or a medic?”

“She's fine, Geoff. I'll see to it.”

“Very good. Good night, sir.” He returned to his post with a nod.

Striding into the elevator, Steve called out quietly, “Friday, living quarters.”

“Yes, Captain. Should I inform the others of your guest?”

He glanced down at his petite bundle. “Not tonight, Friday. I’ll introduce her tomorrow.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“And Friday?”

“Yes, Captain?”

“Cross-reference the name Lily with NYPD’s database, run facial recognition. Get me a last name. Find out if anyone has reported her missing.”

“On it, Captain.”

The doors to the elevator opened on Bucky’s stern then startled face. Bucky disliked it when he ran at night without him. “Punk? Whatcha got there?”

A likely foolish grin crossed Steve’s face. “I found a fallen angel in Central Park.”

“Huh?”

Steve headed for his room having no idea what to do with her. “I'll explain tomorrow. Get the door, would ya?”

“You picking up strays now?”

“Less a stray, more a dame in trouble. She's no threat, Buck. Believe me.” He figured by morning when the light of day shone on what Steve knew about Lily; the woman was liable to rabbit. He couldn’t let that happen, not until he got his hands on her wings again.

“Just be careful, Stevie,” Bucky cautioned, shutting the door behind him.

He made his way through the suite to settle Lily on his bed, worked her shoes and socks off, and headed for the shower.

It was a lightning-fast one, seeing him dressed and settled in the chair in the corner of the room in minutes, prepared to catch a few hours rest before he had to keep her from running.

“Captain?”

“Yeah, Friday?” He perked up with the AI’s quiet utterance.

“She is Officer Lily Tangela. New to the force, and I mean brand new, sir. She’s not even assigned a partner yet.”

“Anything else?”

“A Michael Fairfield called her in as missing. Her Captain is worried. He has people looking for her after the news of her mother's passing.”

“Inform her Captain she's safe. Let him know she's here at the Tower, but her whereabouts are to remain secret. Under no circumstances is he to reveal her location to anyone. Especially her boyfriend or her friend.”

Silence reigned for a moment before Friday muttered, “Oh, my. Yes, sir.”

At times he was startled by how perceptive Tony’s creation truly was. Tonight, he was simply grateful for her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Lots of angst, emotional pain, soft Steve

## Chapter Two

* * *

Lily woke slowly and stretched her arms out, expecting to encounter Michael’s warm body. When she found only an empty bed, the night before came rushing back with a clarity which had her eyes snapping open. She thrust her fist against her mouth to stifle her sob, unable to stop the tears from shaking her small frame.

 _Mom_ … The pain was so sharp and fresh it hurt to breathe let alone cry. But grief would need to wait until she figured out where the heck she was.

An unfamiliar room greeted her when she managed to catch her breath. Then her eyes landed on the man sleeping propped on his fist in the corner. Her body seized as her mind whirled with the consequences disregarding her secret would now have.

_Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit…_

She’d made a _colossal_ mistake! Not only had she flown within the city limits, but she’d been caught with her wings out by one of the most famous people in New York. At least she hadn’t been dumb enough to give him her full name.

She quickly wiped her face with the sheet and slipped quietly from the bed when she spied her shoes and socks by the door. A blush warmed her cheeks. Apparently, the man who was Captain America, touted as a true gentleman, indeed was just that.

Not only had he brought her here, but he’d given up his bed, watched over her, and made sure she was as comfortable as could be without taking her clothes off.

She felt guilty for leaving without thanking him, but it couldn't be helped, though she paused in the open doorway to take a last look at him.

Face soft in sleep; his long lashes swept his cheeks. He always looked so strong and commanding, poised on TV. Well, besides those PSA video’s they’d asked him to do - those were just goofy - but here, now, he looked younger and a little vulnerable. And man was he pretty.

Lily sighed as she turned away, and crept from the room through the living space, around chairs and couches on her way to the exterior door, pausing only long enough to put her socks and shoes on before she reached for the doorknob and gave it a turn. When it opened without creaking, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Going somewhere?”

A large hand landed against the door above her head causing it to shut and her to yelp and spin around. “Holy crap you’re quiet!”

“Is there a reason you’re sneaking out at,” Steve glanced toward the clock, “six in the morning?”

Her jaw dropped open, closed, opened again as she tried to find a plausible excuse, unable to pull her gaze away from his intense blues. “I… no…. I…”

“Angel face, you don’t need to run. You’re safe here.” His free hand came up slowly and cupped her cheek. “There's no need to leave.”

Heart pounding in her throat, Lily shut her eyes. The feel of his hand, slightly calloused but warm and soothing, was caring in a way she suddenly realized she hadn’t felt in years. Not since before her mother’s diagnosis. From that moment, Lily had stepped in, stepped up, and taken on the caregiver role for her mother, giving back to the woman who had been her world. “Captain,” she whispered.

His thumb pressed against her lips. “It’s Steve, doll. Just Steve.”

Opening her eyes, she peered at his chest, keeping her eyes from drifting upward, but the view of the tight shirt was nearly as disconcerting. “Steve. Thank you, for… for everything, but…”

“But?”

She took a deep breath and tucked her chin down. “I have kept my wings a secret my entire life. It was drilled into my head by my mom. You don’t tell anyone, you don’t show anyone. No one could know.” She removed her face from his hand and scrubbed her hands over it instead, feeling far too close to breaking down again. “In one night I lost my mother and broke the most important rule she ever set for me.”

“Lily, we’re not exactly _anyone_. You can trust me, trust my team.”

A soft bark of laughter escaped her. “I… I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I _can’t_! Just let me go! I’ll be out the door, and no one will have to know I was even here,” she pleaded quietly, eyes downcast. “You can forget you ever met me.”

“Angel, I’m never gonna forget you,” Steve said quietly, lifting her chin with the tips of his fingers. “And I’m sorry, Officer Tangela. I’m afraid your Captain already knows you’re here.”

“What!?” she gasped, gazing up at him. How in the hell did he find out who she…

It dawned quickly. Avengers know everything.

“You’re boyfriend-”

“Ex,” she ground out between her clenched teeth.

Steve nodded. “Ex-boyfriend called your precinct. He reported you missing after you ran out. Friday informed your Captain of your current location. We’ve asked that he keep your whereabouts private until you wish otherwise.”

Her brain had frozen over with all these revelations. All she could think to say was, “Friday?”

“Yes, Officer?”

Lily jumped at the new voice and stared up at Steve in shock. “Who… what?”

“Friday is our resident AI. She runs the joint and knows everything anyone could want to know.”

“You flatter me, Captain,” the lilting Irish voice almost seemed to giggle.

Steve continued to peer down at her even as a grin appeared on his face. “Come have breakfast. Meet the others. You’ll see, you can trust us. We know how to keep a secret, Angel.”

“Why are you doing this?” Lily asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“Purely selfish reasons,” he chuckled. “I caught a fallen angel. I can’t let her go now.”

She studied him, worrying her teeth into her lip as she did. It was, in a way, a relief to have someone know about her. The secret which hung like a stone around her neck weighed a little less now.

His team was made up of people of unique persuasions. Magic and mutations ran rampant within the halls of the Avengers Tower and Compound.

Would it be so bad if she could have a place where people knew the real her? Steve was offering her a place in hallowed halls, a place to be herself. She would be stupid to pass it up.

“You're really just genuinely nice, aren't you?”

He took her elbow and pulled her from the door so he could open it. “Depends on who you ask.”

A small smirk flirted with her lips. “Who should I ask to get the full story?”

“Bucky,” he said with a laugh. “He's known me longest. Or Sam. Either will give you the goods.” His hand shifted to her low back as he led her through the halls of the tower.

The sounds of laughter and conversation, the clanging of dishes and scent of bacon made her stomach growl.

“Hungry?”

“Apparently,” Lily muttered, though how that was possible when her insides had twisted into nervous knots she had no idea.

On the way past a large framed painting, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and came to a dead stop. “Oh man.” She shook her head and thrust her hands through her hair. “You were going to let me go in there looking like this?” she squeaked indignantly.

“Like what? You're beautiful, Angel. “

Head snapping around, she glared at him. “Really, Captain? I have sex hair for days, red eyes, and mascara down my face.”

“Sex hair,” he chuckled, muttering something further under his breath.

She refused to believe her ears had actually heard, _"I could do so much better._ There was no way that suggestive comment could have come from his mouth. Still, red flooded her cheeks.

He turned her to face him, ran his hands through her hair, rubbed his thumbs beneath her eyes, then cupped her cheeks. “You look fine, Angel face. C’mon, quit stalling.”

“Not stalling,” she pouted. “I get thrown in the deep end of the pool all the time. Meet superheroes on a daily basis.” Her grumbling amused him apparently for he laughed loudly and grabbed her hand to drag her through the door.

Sound and motion ended with her appearance as all eyes swept their way. Never more in her entire life had Lily wished for the ability to make herself invisible than right that second. Spread out around the table and hovering in the kitchen were the most famous people on the planet. And not just two or three, but a whole handful. Two handfuls, or nearly.

Natasha Romanoff and Sam Wilson stared at her from beyond the kitchen island. Vision and Wanda Maximoff from where they were setting the table. Bruce Banner and Tony Stark gaped at her from where they’d paused, plates of pancakes and bacon in hand, while Pepper Potts held a half poured cup of coffee.

“About time you two showed up.”

The voice coming from behind her had Lily reacting on instinct, spinning and throwing a right hook. A hand made of metal caught her fist, and she stared aghast at Bucky Barnes.

“I beg your pardon, Sergeant!” she gasped, tugging at her hand.

“You easily spooked, darlin’?” Bucky chuckled, peering at her curiously before shifting his focus to Steve with a raised brow.

“No! No, no! I, it’s just, _ha_!” she laughed stupidly before deflating. “Can we have a do-over?”

Bucky nodded. “Sure thing, doll.”

“Though you did do the same to me, Angel,” Steve snickered. “Is that a Lily special? Meet someone new, throw a punch?”

Unable to get her hand back, Lily looked away and blushed to the roots of her hair. “I was trained to defend myself. Always.”

“Comes with the territory Lily was it?” Bucky said, releasing her fist. “Less that shirt’s a knock-off.”

“Everyone, this is Officer Lily Tangela of the NYPD. Angel, meet everyone.” Steve urged her forward with a hand at her waist.

“Concise as always, Steve,” Natasha scoffed, wiping her hands on a towel and striding out of the kitchen. “Natasha, nice to meet you, Lily.”

“Ma’am.” Lily nodded.

“Ugh, that makes me feel old. Natasha or Nat is fine. Where did our fair Captain find you?”

There was a sharpness to the question embedded in the tone, and suspicion - though mild - lingered in the redhead’s green gaze.

“I… the park.”

“Where though? And how?” Natasha pushed.

“Nat lay off. Lily isn’t a threat.” Steve glared at the petite redhead.

Nat shrugged. “If you say so, Steve.”

“Well, I for one am pleased to see mister all American _finally_ do something just a little scandalous,” Tony smirked, setting the platter on the table and wandering closer. “Well done, Captain. I highly approve of your choice of late night company.”

Lily didn’t know it was possible to blush any harder than she already was, but her face felt like it was burning.

“Don’t make me hit you, Tony,” Steve said in a cold voice. “Lily needed help. I helped. End of story.”

“Help with what?” asked Sam, nudging Tony out of the way. “Welcome to Avenger’s central where we’re all crazy, and no one introduces themselves. Sam Wilson,” he smiled, taking her hand, “at your service. Stark’s right about one thing. You certainly are a looker.”

Lily’s mouth fell open. “I… ugh… thank you?”

Wanda gave Sam a shove, stole Lily’s hand for her own, and drew her away from everyone crowding her. “They are all such boys. You come with me. I am Wanda. You can tell me how it is you found your way into our Captain’s keeping, yes?”

A bit overwhelmed, Lily went with her without resistance. “Oh, well… I…” Pain flared in her chest, causing her to cringe and Wanda to stop walking.

“Such pain,” the Scarlet Witch whispered, eyes wide and sad. “Oh, Lily! I am so sorry.”

An empath and a mind reader. Lily had forgotten that about the witch. “It was a rough night,” she whispered, turning away and swiping at the tear which escaped down her cheek.

Arms wrapped around her suddenly, and she found herself pressed to Steve’s chest where she curled into him and rested her forehead against his heart.

“Easy there, Angel. You’re alright.”

Lily couldn’t have said why it happened, or when it had happened, but all of a sudden the only place she felt safe, felt whole, felt protected from the pain waging war in her soul, was right here listening to the steady beat of America’s Greatest Hero’s heart.

Was she foolish to lean on a man she didn’t know? Was it a stupid schoolgirl crush? Possibly. Who hadn't been just a little in love with Steve Rogers at some point in time? But right now, when her world was crumbling, Steve was a haven for her mutilated heart.

***

Wanda’s face was full of compassion when Steve looked her way as he stroked a hand down Lily’s hair. He nodded to Wanda, who moved off into the room where the others were standing together in stunned amazement.

Her quiet voice only asked them to give Steve and Lily a moment, and not to bombard the poor woman with questions. They would get answers in time.

Steve had known as soon as Wanda touched her there would be no turning back. Wanda would feel, possibly see, a good chunk of what happened the night before. She wouldn’t say anything, not without Lily’s permission, but the Scarlet Witch would know.

“You alright?” he asked softly.

“This is really hard,” she whispered, voice a touch muffled.

“I know, Angel. I know. Let’s get some food in you. You’ll feel better.” He set her away from him, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and led her back to the table.

When his eyes caught with Bucky’s, the former Winter Soldier arched a brow to which Steve shook his head. There wasn’t much Bucky could do until Lily started to trust them, but her mumbled words about having been taught to protect herself, _always_ , gave him a bad feeling.

What little she’d said of her mother continually moving them rang an alarm bell for him. Had her mother been running from someone?

“I set an extra place for you,” Bruce smiled, holding out his hand. “Bruce Banner.”

She shook it. “Lily Tangela. Nice to meet you all. Sorry about… I just,” she breathed out a harsh breath, “rough night. I'm still finding my feet.”

“S’okay, doll. You can talk or not. When you’re ready.” Bucky winked at her.

“Officer Tangela? Orange juice?” Vision asked, hovering at her shoulder.

“It is Vision’s specialty. He does not do so well with borscht or some other things, but he makes delicious orange juice,” Wanda teased from across the table.

Steve watched as the others fell into their regular banter, engaging each other, loud and boisterous as always. The family dynamic they had flowed smoothly with just enough of it directed at Lily to have her reacting and interacting, her comfort level growing with each passing moment. Right up until the oven dinged and Natasha headed for the kitchen.

The scent of the heavenly baked muffins had Steve’s mouth watering. No one would ever guess Natasha could bake. Cook, not so much, but the woman had a knack for baked goods. The basket of blueberry delights landed on the table with a solid thump, and they all reached for one.

It wasn’t until Lily’s breath hitched that Steve realized there was a problem. He sent a glance her way only to find her pale and staring at the muffin in his hand.

“Lily?” he asked softly.

Her hand reached out and hovered over the muffin as two fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “Blueberry… mom made… every Sunday when I was a kid. They’re my favourite.” Her entire body shook right before she shoved from the chair and ran from the room.

Steve looked at the concerned faces and sighed. “Lily’s mom died last night. I found her crying in the park when, after going home to tell her boyfriend, she found him having an affair with her friend. She had nowhere to go.”

Everyone but Vision flinched.

“Steve,” Wanda stood. “I can go.”

“Thank you, Wanda, but I’ve got this. There’s more to Lily yet. Meet me in the training facility in thirty.” Nodding to the group, he took two muffins with him and went hunting for an angel. “Friday?”

“I didn’t think you wanted her to leave, so I refused access to the elevator and stairs. She’s back in your room, Captain.”

“Good job, Friday.” He walked into his suite without knocking.

Lily had curled up in the middle of his sofa, rocking, quiet sobs wracking her small frame.

“Angel,” he whispered, his heart breaking.

Steve went to her and lifted her up, sat in her spot, and cuddled her in his lap. When she threw her arms around his neck and cried in great heaving sobs, he wrapped his around her back and held on.

He didn’t understand when it had happened, or how, but something inside him refused to let her go. It was as if a piece of his heart had broken off and become hers. He hated seeing her pain, hated listening to her cry, hated that she was so sad. He wanted nothing more than to take some of that pain onto himself and ease her burden. So he held her tighter, murmured the same nonsense things from last night, and when all else failed to reduce the sobbing, he sang.

The song was soft, an old Irish lullaby he remembered from his mother. While he couldn’t remember the translation, he remembered the Gaelic enough not to make too big a mess of the pronunciation. By the time he finished, she had quieted. “You still awake, Angel?”

“Yeah,” she breathed against his throat.

“Feel a little better?”

“Yeah. Sorry I keep bawling on you.”

“I’ve had worse things on me than angel tears,” he chuckled softly.

“There may be a little angel snot, too,” she quipped, breath shuddering out.

“Well, that changes _everything_.” He could feel her smile against his throat.

“Is it weird?” she asked.

“What?”

“Having some strange girl you don’t know cry all over you?”

“Sweetheart, women cry on me all the time. Usually preceded by the words, “ _I love you so much, Captain America!_ ” he sang in a falsetto voice.

“You sound as if you don’t enjoy their admiration, _Captain_.”

Steve had to physically fight his highly inappropriate reaction when she purred his title. “I didn’t get into this gig for the fame, Angel. I became a soldier because I believed what was happening in occupied Europe was wrong. I didn’t do it to kill Nazis, didn’t believe much in killin’ at all, but a man has to stand up for what he believes in, and stand against those who are doing wrong.”

“So having a pretty girl fawn over you is unappealing?”

He sighed. “I do a job, that’s all. No different than a doctor or a police officer. It’s just a job.”

“Though a rather public and important one.” She lifted her head and peered at him for a long moment, seeming to search his eyes for something he couldn’t begin to guess at. “My mother liked to say, "It's the people who put themselves in harm's way who get the least amount of recognition." So do the job, Steve. Take the accolades when they come and pass them on to others. If you feel like your recognition is unwarranted, which it isn’t, do what you can to praise those who helped, who assisted you, and pay it forward.”

“Is she why you became a cop?”

She pushed against him to get him to let go. Steve only dragged her back to his chest.

Lily sighed. “My dad left when I was three, but I can remember snatches of time. Moments of clarity. He was a big man, a warrior. I don’t know how I know that I just do. He used to say it was his duty to protect mankind. He never said protect them from what, only that it was his job. When he left, that’s when we started to move.”

Steve sat quietly, fingers lazily stroking her back. Already he was far too comfortable with his bundle of female and had to remind himself she'd just had her heart broken. When she said no more, he finally asked, “Were you running, Lily? Did your mom move you like that cause you were running from something?”

“I don't know,” she whispered.

He wasn't sure he believed her, but he wasn't going to push it yet either. Trust had to be earned, and he'd yet to prove himself to her. “I brought you a muffin.”

“Thank you, but I'm not hungry.”

“You've got to eat. There's going to be lots to do in the next few days. Not eating is only going to make you sick.”

“I've never been before.”

“What? To a funeral?”

“Yes, but no. I've never been sick.”

“Ever!?” he asked, shocked.

She shook her head, rubbing her silky hair across his shirt and tickling his chin.  “I was ridiculously healthy as a child. I can get hurt, but I don't get sick.”

“Must be nice,” he sighed.

Silence hung for a few moments before she turned her head to look up at him from her position against his chest. “It’s nearly impossible to reconcile that small guy you were with who you are today; you know that right?”

A smirk curled his lips. “So I’ve been told.”

“Was it hard? Going from what you were to what you are?”

“Yes and no.”

“Natasha is right. That was very concise.”

“You teasing me, Angel face?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

He rubbed his hand over her back, walking his fingers over the bare skin her wings had erupted from and wondered about them. “It was nice to be able to breathe freely. To see above the crowd for once. To not have my bones ache with cold when the snow fell, and the wind snuck beneath my blankets. But it was also weird for a while. Stairs were the wrong height. I was a lot stronger than before. I broke a lot of things figuring out how to open doors, close drawers, do up buttons. I can’t even count the number of shirts I ripped trying to find ones that fit when I went from a shrimp to this.”

“Do you ever regret it?”

He hesitated, surprised as he’d never been asked that before, but ultimately shook his head. “There are things I regret about the war, things I did or had to do, but becoming Captain America? No, I don’t regret that.”

Lily clasped her hands together and looked down at them. “I’m taking a big risk here, Steve. I can’t go back if word of… of,” she shrugged a shoulder, “these get out.”

Steve held her gently, stroking his thumbs over the skin of her shoulders left bare by her top. “Angel… Lily. We’re not going to let anything happen to you, but you need to trust someone. You can’t keep going it alone.”

Again she peered at him, seemed to be assessing, weighing his words against a scale he wasn't privy to before making her decision.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Alright, Steve. You win.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Angst. Language. Fluff

## Chapter Three

* * *

The others were already waiting when they arrived in the room most frequented by them all.

Lily hadn't said a word on the ride down in the elevator, only chewed nervously on her lip. Steve was glad it was a short ride for if she’d kept that up, she would have bloodied it. Every so often she quivered, nerves and fear a potent mix, causing the hair on his neck to stand up as his own battle-honed instincts itched. There was no danger, but that didn't stop him from feeling twitchy thanks to her nerves.

He took her hand as her shaking intensified, and led her through the sea of weights and workout equipment toward the floor of mats, giving her ample free space. The memory of those giant wings prominent in his mind. Once they reached the center, he turned to face her, but when the others made to close in, he waved them back.

“Steve…” Her breath hitched wildly. “I can't do this.”

“Yes, you can.” He cupped her face and ran his thumbs over her pale cheeks.

“No… no, I…” Panic made her breathing shallow.

“Look at me, Lily.” Command laced his voice, forcing ice blue eyes, paled nearly to silver, to latch with his. “No one is going to hurt you. I give you my word. Trust me.”

“I do trust you, Steve, but I don't know them,” she panted, her shaking getting worse.

Softening toward her, her fear very real, Steve caressed her cheeks again. “Angel, I know them. Trust me. Close your eyes.”

She did, her hands drifting up to hold on his waist. Beneath the splay of his finger, he could feel the rapid pounding of her heart.

“Take a breath, nice and deep. Good. And another. It's just you and me, Lily, standing in the glen in the park. Show me your wings again, sweetheart. They were beautiful and so soft. Can I see them again, Angel? Can I touch them? Please, doll?” he coaxed quietly.

A shiver of electricity coursed from her to him. Lazy lids with thick lashes lifted to show him swirling amethyst eyes, sultry and filled with warmth. Heat curled in his abdomen with that look, forcing a sound like a soft purr from his throat.

A breeze wafted around them, tugging playfully at Lily’s hair. Then white light bloomed along her spine, and her wings unfurled behind her in all their stunning glory.

He hasn't been able to see more than a sheen last night in the moonlight, but beneath the bright lights of the facility he gasped for the underside of her wings weren't black but blue. From the darkest navy into vibrant sky blue and radiant turquoise, shifting with the light like every colour of the ocean, even running to purple and indigo with shots of amethyst like her eyes when they flared out high and wide behind her. They were enormous, stunning, and magnificent.

“Beautiful,” Steve sighed, completely awed.

Then a gasp left her lips, and her right wing twisted, crashing to the ground. Lily’s face contorted with pain and a groan ripped from her throat when her knees buckled.

“Lily!” Steve cried, his hands shooting out to catch her by the arms as he dropped with her.

“Shit!” she hissed, glaring over her shoulder.

Bruce appeared beside them. “Don't move! Let me look.”

“I think I broke the radius when I landed in the park.” She flinched beneath Bruce's gentle manipulation. “I had a less than stellar landing, but with all the adrenalin last night, I guess I didn't notice.”

“Define less than stellar,” Steve frowned.

“Clipped a tree. I wasn't exactly in my right mind, and the landing would have been tricky even during the day.”

Before Steve could snap, _then you shouldn't have been flying_ , Bucky appeared on her other side.

“Damn, doll. Ain't you full of surprises. When the punk said he'd found a fallen angel, he wasn't kidding.” He reached for her other wing only to pause when she flinched. “Sorry, should’a asked.”

She blushed. “No, it's okay. They're just… sensitive, and I'm not used to people touching them.”

A host of questions ran rampant in Steve's mind, but he didn't give voice to them. “Bruce?”

“Yeah, it's broken.” The man glanced his way. “I don't know, uh… do you just put them away to heal?”

Hanging her head, Lily shook it. “The wound won't heal. It's like they go into limbo when I vanish them. Too long in that state and they fester like any other untended injury.”

“What can we do, Angel?” Steve asked, hating her pain but happy he'd made her reveal them if they would have only gotten worse staying hidden.

She glanced up at him through her lashes. “They're no different than a bird's wings. It needs to be set, then tied down. Steve, I can't have this now!” Tears returned, and she pressed her palms to her face.

“Hey, now. C’mon, Lily.” He took her hands. “It’s okay,” he coaxed gently.

“There's so much… mom’s waiting. I can't leave my wings out!” she cried, her voice breaking.

Pepper dropped to her knees in an elegant white skirt suit beside Steve. The strawberry blonde had tears in her eyes along with compassion. “Yes, you can. I'll help. We'll get everything we can sorted out over the phone, and if you need to go somewhere in person, we'll figure it out.”

Lily blinked her angel eyes at Pepper. “I… I don't… know what to say,” she whispered, clearly stunned.

“There’s nothing to say. I'm Pepper, by the way, and when you're ready, we'll talk about what your mom needs, okay?”

“Thank you,” Lily sniffed.

Steve pulled a hanky from his pocket.

Lily eyed him with a small smirk. “Mr. Jenkins in apartment 4B does the same thing. He's old enough to be my grandfather.”

“Technically so’s he,” Tony quipped, crouching beside Bruce. “These are something else, girly.”

“Amazing,” Sam breathed in awe. “You and I have got to go flying sometime. Well, when you can. If you want to,” he clarified when Steve glowered at him.

“Speaking of which, we should get you to medical, Lily. How best do we do this without hurting you?” Bruce asked.

She looked at Steve and squeezed his hands. “Can you help me up?”

Steve rocked back on his toes, took her gently by her narrow waist, and lifted her carefully to her feet. Her wing dragged even with Bruce supporting it.

“Okay, okay,” she panted softly, hands creeping up to cling to his shoulders. Clearly, it hurt more than she was letting on. “These are too big to be bound correctly. I'm going to need to shift them to another set of wings. Bear with me.”

“Excuse me?” Bruce muttered.

“Steve?” Her hands tightened around his neck, and she looked up at him with pain in her eyes.

“Yeah, Angel?”

“Hold on,” she murmured before amethyst eyes blazed to gold.

The white of her wings rippled, the shape changed, the colour darkened to steel greys and blacks. Her once swan-like wings now closely resembled the falcon which roosted among the skyscrapers.

“Holy… shit,” Bucky breathed.

Lily’s knees went limp, and a pained whimper escaped her clenched teeth. “Good. Now, fold it in against my spine.” She drew in the other to show them.

They were much shorter now, arching above her shoulders and just skimming the floor. They reminded Steve of Sam’s wings. Built for speed. The others, bigger, wider, longer, were likely meant for distance.

“You didn't tell me about those.” Steve tried not to pout.

“You didn't ask,” she gasped, her nails digging into his shoulders when Bruce folded her wing in carefully.

“Any others in there I should know about?”

“Battle wings,” she murmured, dropping her head to his chest.

“Battle?” ripped from nearly every mouth in the room.

“Mm,” she hummed. “I'll show you when they're healed. Battle wings are massive.”

Bruce released the damaged wing.

“No, don't!” Lily cried as it sagged.

Faster than the rest, Steve closed his hand around the wing’s edge, holding it in place until Wanda’s red magic took over.

Bruce held up his hands. “Sorry! Sorry, that's my bad.”

“It's okay,” Lily sighed.

“You okay to walk to medical?” Steve asked, arm around her waist and hand light upon her wing, trying not to caress his fingertips down the feathers while everyone looked on.

She nodded slowly. “It hurts, but it's not unbearable. If I’d broken the humerus, it would be a different story.” Her eyes lifted back to his, golden like a wolf or an eagle now, and she bit her lip again. “Maybe just… watch, so I don’t smack them on a doorway? I’m not used to leaving them out all the time.”

His grip on her waist tightened momentarily when the shiver raced through her. “I can do that, Angel.” Reluctantly, he let go of the softest thing he’d ever touched, stepped back from her slowly, and held out his hand.

He smiled when she took it.

***

Wanda shooed the men from the room after assuring Steve she and Natasha would look after Lily. They’d sent Vision on ahead to clear out any lingering personnel to keep Lily a secret. Parts of Avengers Tower would be going into lockdown for a while; Tony commanding Friday to remove any recordings of her and her wings from the records.

Bruce had done what he could, setting the break in her wing, but the rest would be up to the ex-assassin and herself as they would have to cut Lily’s clothes off of her to wrap the feathery appendage to the woman’s torso.

Luckily for Lily, she had a habit of wearing things like the racerback tank top which allowed for the large wings to unfurl with little discomfort. The openings for the arms and lack of fabric across the back of the shirt stretched a little to accommodate where the wings attached beneath her shoulders and along her spine, but otherwise restricted nothing.

Bruce had asked all kinds of questions about doctors and falls and sickness, none of which Lily had ever seen. She didn’t get sick, she’d never had an x-ray, and she healed far faster than most humans if she did have an accident. When she’d agreed to have her back x-rayed for the first time, no one had expected to see the dual shoulder blades, humeri, radii and ulnas; the usual human set and the bird ones reflected in her hollow wings sitting below them.

It had the biology nerd in Bruce ridiculously fascinated. He desperately wanted ones of her with the wings vanished to make comparisons.

Now, as Wanda stood before her, still holding the wing in place with her magic, there was what looked like a large clip holding the radius in place on the broken wing where it needed to mend.

“Do you wish to do anything like shower, maybe, before we wrap this?” Wanda asked the woman who sat looking small and alone on the med bed, scooted back so her feathers could rest without bending.

“No… thank you,” Lily shook her head, voice barely more than a whisper.

Wanda glanced at Nat before returning her attention to Lily and taking her hand. “We are no danger to you, Lily. I know you spent your life in hiding, many of us have, or under rule of… terrible people. We would not allow harm to come to you, nor give up your secret willingly.”

The woman with the wings glanced up and shuddered, her golden eyes - the colour they'd become with her change of wings - welling with tears. “You’re all so nice,” she whispered before tightly closing her eyes.

“There is much pain in you, Lily, but much strength too. Hold on to that, and in next few days when all seems overwhelming, hold on to Steve. He will get you through.” Wanda had a look at her clothing with a sigh. “I think… we need to reassess your wardrobe, yes?”

Having a look as well, Natasha patted then squeezed Lily’s hand. “Yeah. Not like you can take this shirt off with those wings.” Frowning, the redhead assessed her a little harder. “How perky are your tits that you can go braless?”

“Natasha!” Wanda scolded.

“What?” the former assassin asked, blinking innocently.

Red of face, Lily tucked her chin. “Not like I have much to begin with,” she sighed, looking down at her smaller chest.

“Still enough for a handful,” Nat quipped a sparkle in her eyes. “So… I’m wondering if there’s anything you needed from your apartment?”

“She is wondering if you would like her to teach…” Wanda cocked her head, “Michael a lesson?”

“Oh!” Lily’s eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No, no. I… it’s fine.” But they could both see it wasn't. Lily was deeply bruised by the utter betrayal of the man she’d loved and the woman who was supposed to be her friend.

“How about I just swing by and pick up a few essentials?” Nat said with a devious grin. “Michael should be at work, right?”

Wanda tried not to giggle, feeling the swirling emotions of both women. Lily wasn’t yet aware of the trouble Nat could get into, nor the pleasure she took in screwing with people. Not that Nat was looking to mess with Lily, but the Black Widow would happily play her particular brand of mind games with Lily’s ex.

“Bucky's itching to get out of the tower for a while. We could run over. Be in and out before anyone even knew we were there,” Nat offered.

Lily bit her lip. “Well… I left my phone and my purse behind. I've got a couple of dresses and some pajamas that I could use. Not to mention underwear. And there's an album, photo album,” her voice grew hoarse, “on- on the shelf by the TV full of pictures of mom and me.” Lily swiped at the tears when they trickled down her cheek. “But I don't have my keys.”

Natasha leaned in and hugged Lily tightly. “Like I need keys. We’ll be back in an hour.” She pulled away and headed for the door.

“Don’t you want my address?” Lily called out.

“Oh, sweety,” Natasha smiled. “You’ll learn.”

Steve was standing before the door with his hand raised to knock when Natasha pushed it open. “Uh… I thought you could use this. Cut it up, do whatever with it, until we figure out...stuff,” he murmured, blushing a little when he held out one of his many plaid button ups.

“Thank you, Steve,” Wanda said, calling it from his hand with her magic. It was painfully obvious he was sweet on Lily, but Wanda couldn't blame him. _Angel_ , he called her, and she was.

Lily was soft, sweet, and gentle with a core of iron Wanda was astounded by. The mental strength she had was incredible, and though she cried, Lily felt no shame in her tears. They were liquid drops of love in the dark-haired beauty’s mind, ones she shed in honour of the woman who’d been her entire life.

Wanda smiled at the green and blue small checkered pattern. Steve would like seeing Lily in his clothes. A wash of magic had the sleeves removed, the back gone but collar left intact, and belt tie created from one of the discarded sleeves. “Alright, it might look a little strange-"

“No stranger than a girl with wings,” Lily murmured.

“-but you will at least be able to get it on and off on your own,” Wanda finished.

“Thank you, Wanda. You're very kind,” Lily sighed. “Looks like I'll be hanging around for a while.”

Wanda picked up a pair of scissors and cut the back of Lily's top in half, then snipped the piece between her wings to allow the top to fall forward. “And this is hardship? You dislike us so much already?” she teased.

“No! Of course not. There's just… so much to do…” Lily sighed and grabbed the front of her shirt to keep it from falling all the way down. “Arrangements and stuff. All of mom's documents were in her room at the hospice. I need to get them in order to contact the funeral home. She had it all… all worked out.” Fresh tears fell down Lily's cheeks.

“ _Natasha_ ,” Wanda contacted her telepathically, _“Lily needs papers from her mother's hospice. The arrangements are set. She just needs the documents._ ”

“ _They may not give them to us, Wands,_ ” Natasha said.

“ _When has a little thing like permission ever stop you, Natalia?_ ”

Wanda let the connection go as she called the long strips of binding cloth toward her. Lily slipped from the gurney and between the two of them, they had her damaged wing secured firmly to her body without impeding the healthy one.

Then Wanda picked up and undid the top two buttons on Steve's shirt to fit it over Lily's head. It settled easily around her, and Wanda used the belt attached to the side seams to wrap low around Lily's waist. A thread of magic snuck the ties beneath her bound feathers before Wanda tied it in a knot in the front.

“There. His shirt is very big but gives you coverage and freedom. You can change out of it on your own if needed.”

Lily looked down at herself and snickered. “I swear even his shirts are like Mr. Jenkins.”

Wanda giggled and nodded. “He has a plethora of them. It took _forever_ to get him to stop wearing pleated pants.”

“Actual front pleat pants? Those god awful ones that make all men look thirty pounds heavier than they are?”

“And high waisted. Like Urkel. I have pictures,” Wanda giggled.

“No!” Lily gasped. “And the reason behind the size too small t-shirts?”

“Natasha. She says it is her gift to womankind. She calls them smedium.”

The burst of laughter that escaped Lily stunned Wanda. All she could do was stand and stare in awe. Everything about the woman lit up, literally. She glowed like the angel Steve named her. It was ethereal, and the sound was pure unadulterated joy.

Wanda's heart leapt, so full of wonder and happiness. It was the purest emotion she'd ever felt.

“Oh,” Lily giggled and sighed. “As one of womankind, I'll have to thank her for that.”

The radiance faded with her laughter, though the smile remained on Lily's face. Shaking free of the shock of it all, Wanda took Lily's hand and linked their arms together. “Now, you eat. You need strength. And while you eat, I will get Sam to tell you more stories of Steve and his old man ways, yes?”

“Yeah, Wanda. That sounds good,” Lily agreed as they pushed open the door.

Steve’s eyes lit up, then darkened from bright sky blue to deep oceans when he took in Lily wearing his shirt. “Looks better on you,” he said, causing Lily to blush.

Wanda arched a brow and smirked a small grin. Perhaps Lily wasn't as heartbroken over Michael as she'd thought, and maybe she was a little sweet on Steve as well.

Only time would tell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: fluff, kind of smexy, angst, death of her mother, cheating ex
> 
> This chapter brought to you by the wonderful @tamianich through Coffee Updates. Thank you for your support! It means so much to me.

## Chapter Four

* * *

Natasha jogged the last few steps and breathed out in relief. “Well, shit. No wonder Lily has an ass you could bounce a quarter off. Eight flights of stairs, no elevator. Grocery day must suck balls.”

“Jeez, Nat. And Steve bitches about my mouth,” Bucky chuckled. “And I don’t think ogling Lily's ass will win you any points with him. I haven't seen him get that doe-eyed, sappy smile, squinchy face since Peggy.”

“Yeah?” she smirked, sauntering down the hall.

“Oh, yeah. Steve's sweet on her alright. Course, he won't do anything about it until this shit with her ex is sorted, and her mom taken care of. The punk's got too much honour for that.”

“I am aware,” Nat sighed. “You think if we gave him enough of Thor's hooch he'd drop the act and pin her to the wall?”

Bucky burst out laughing. “Maybe. You sure seem to like her.”

“It's weird, but I really do. I was ready to be suspicious and guarded but something about her...” She shook her head, unable to explain it.

“Damsel in distress.”

“I'm sorry?” she asked, picking the lock on Lily's door.

“Damsel in distress. She's soft. Sweet. I would have said innocent until, well, you know.”

He made a flapping motion with his hands and made Natasha chuckle. “Yes. Those.”

“Now I'd say pure. She's got a pure spirit. Something about her screams _trust me_. I've never seen anything like it. She's really… special.”

“I think Steve gets more _save me_ than trust me from her, pacing like a damn wolf outside medical.” The lock clicked, and she let herself into the apartment.

A hole of an apartment. Thank Stark she didn't live like this anymore. Not that she'd lived like this in a long time, but spies moved quick, and sometimes quick meant cheap, and that meant little holes for space no bigger than a mousetrap like this one.

“Shit,” Bucky hissed. “Even Steve's place was bigger than this back in the day.”

“But she made it home,” Nat murmured, admiring the comfy couch and pretty Afghan over the back in a rainbow of colours. “See if you can find a duffle bag in the bedroom. We're taking more than just basics.”

Natasha was good at reading a room and piecing together the people that lived there from it. She could tell what was Lily's. What homey touches the woman had added. Like the Afghan and the photo album and the lovingly dusted glass unicorn which sat beside it. Yes, it might have been a gift from Michael, but Nat could see at some point the tail and the horn had been broken off and glued back together. The glue used was old and yellow with age. She doubted Lily and Michael had been together more than a year, two tops.

She added the unicorn to the pile of Afghan and photo album and continued around the room. A book with a unicorn bookmark and well-creased spine - a clear favourite - landed near the others. Lily's purse and phone were no longer by the door, but she found them on the counter in the galley kitchen behind the sofa. On the table sat the last supper of Lily and Michael's relationship, shared not with the woman he was supposed to love, but with one who wore ugly lipstick.

“Nat?” Bucky stood in the doorway holding up two bags. “I'll pack that stuff. I don't think she'd appreciate me going through her underwear.”

A tint of red blushed his cheeks and made Natasha chuckle. “I'm on it.”

She plucked the bigger of the two bags from his fingers and walked past him into the Den of Sin. The bed was a mess, pillows scattered. She wondered if Michael spent all night looking for Lily and hoped he had. The asshole didn't deserve her. She was too good for someone like him. In truth, she was just a little pissed he wasn't here to watch as Natasha stuffed Lily's pretty lingerie, nighties, and underwear in the duffle then moved on to sort through her ridiculously organized closet. A couple of strapless sundresses were folded and carefully added. She had a plethora of halter tops in jewel tones, and more yoga pants than Wanda - which was saying something. Skirts, jeans, and a worn pair of plaid pajama bottoms, slippers and a pair of cute heels which would complement the dresses rounded out the bag.

“Fuck, Nat! You pack her entire wardrobe?” Bucky asked, peering over her shoulder.

“Only the girl's essentials.” She tossed him a smile and went into the bathroom where the woman was woefully understocked on cosmetics. A glance had all of Lily's preferred creams and cleansers memorized, along with her other feminine essentials. It would all be added to the list of shopping done to stock the Avengers rooms and delivered to Lily's as soon as possible.

“Done.” Nat headed out past Bucky who was packing both bags.

“Uh oh,” he murmured, staring at the door. Footsteps had stopped there, and keys were jingling. “Incoming. How are we playing this?”

“Depends on if he recognizes us.” It wasn't like they could hide in the tiny apartment.

“Fire escape?” he asked, picking up both bags.

“Running would only make us look like thieves.” She jerked the ball cap from Bucky's back pocket and tugged it down over his eyes, then she gave her blonde wig an adjustment, popped a chunk of Hubba Bubba gum in her mouth and started to chew it obnoxiously as the key scraped in the lock.

“Oh, God. Not airhead cheerleader,” Bucky groaned.

Nat smiled up at him as she swiped Lily's keys off the counter.

“Just play along, Barnes.” She gave him a wink and headed for the door as it swung open.

“What the hell?” Michael muttered staring wide-eyed at Natasha. “Who the hell are you, and why are you in my apartment?”

“I'm Bambi. That's Chuck. Lily asked me to come and get some of her things,” Nat scowled, her voice higher than normal. “Seeing as how she wants nothin’ to do with you anytime soon.” She looked him over with loathing. “You're nothin’ but a no good cheater. And after all she's been through. Why you're no better than fleas on rats. No! Amoebas on fleas on rats!” Nat stalked toward him and backed him right out into the hall and into his neighbour's door. “She told me to tell you to leave her the hell alone. That goes for her so-called _best friend_ too. You both sicken me.” She tossed her head and looked at Bucky, who was trying his damnedest not to break out laughing. “Let's go, Chuck.”

“Wait!” Michael grabbed her arm.

Nat barely contained her smile as she removed it with enough force to spin Michael around and pin him face first to the wall. “You best be thinking again about who you're grabbing, son. I don't take kindly to being manhandled, and I assure you, I won't hesitate to kick your sorry ass down those eight flights of stairs. You get me?”

“Yes! Yes, I get you!” he cried.

Nat shoved him and stepped back as Bucky walked past her. “Leave Lily alone. She doesn't want to talk or deal with you right now. She's going through enough, but at least her real friends will be there for her now.” She glared him down. “Unlike you.”

“What friends?” he snapped. “She doesn't have any besides Jenny and me. Who the hell are you people?”

“Like I said. We're her real friends, and you can bet your ass we're going to be looking out for her from now on. Don't try and contact her, Michael. You won't get through.” Natasha would see Lily's phone put on the same service as the rest of them, allowing Friday to weed out any unwanted callers.

“I just want to explain! We didn't want her to find out this way.”

Natasha was on him so fast she was a blur as she slammed him into the wall and pinned him there with her forearm across his throat. “You stupid ingrate! You've lost the best thing you've ever had. I hope your life goes to complete and utter shit from here on out.”

“ _On ne stoit_ ,” Bucky murmured in his deep, heavily accented Russian, telling her Michael wasn't worth it.

“ _No ya deystvitel'no etogo khochu._ ” But she really wanted to.

“ _Eto ne to, chego khotela by Lili. I vam pridetsya ob"yasnyat' veshchi Kap_.” It wasn't what Lily would want. And she would have to explain it to Cap.

“Ugh, fine!” she huffed and let the man go. “He ruins all my fun.” Natasha pouted prettily and skipped toward Barnes. “Bye, Michael. I hope I never see you again.” She waved, smiled, popped her gum and trotted down the stairs a few steps ahead of Bucky.

He looked back over his shoulder at Michael leaning against the wall. “Be smart,” Bucky muttered in strong Russian accented English. “Leave Lily alone, _da_?” Then he clumped down the stairs after Natasha like the big burly bear he resembled.

She made it all the way to the street before bursting out laughing and spit her gum in the garbage. “Nice ad-lib.”

Bucky chuckled a little and tucked the first duffle into the saddlebag on his motorcycle. “It seemed appropriate. Now he's gonna be wondering if she's got ties to the Russian mob.”

“Better than looking our way,” Nat giggled, watching as he gently placed the other duffle in his saddlebags, the one with the glass unicorn, and secured it there. “Let's get the paperwork and get back to the Tower. I can only imagine the trouble Sam and Wanda are causing Steve.”

“It's the punk's turn. He doesn't give anyone cause to tease him nearly enough.” Bucky started the engine as Natasha climbed on, securing her helmet in place and rapping Bucky on his to single she was good to go.

“Hey, Nat?” he called over his shoulder, eyeing her with a smug grin.

“What?”

“You can bounce a quarter off your ass too.”

He peeled out into the street with her laughter echoing behind them.

***

Lily sat giggling on a stool at the kitchen island with Wanda, flipping through the woman’s photo album. “I honestly thought I was the only one who kept these anymore. Everyone else has digital ones or Facebook. Instagram. I like being able to hold them in my hands, sit and share them with friends. Laugh over some of the more ridiculous ones. Like this.” She tapped the photo of Sam, Steve, and Tony together. “What in the world were they doing?”

“That was Halloween. They went as pirates, but Thor brought alcohol from Asgard and Steve got drunk-”

“Don’t tell that story!” Steve shouted from the living room.

“No, no. Do tell that story,” Lily giggled.

Wanda leaned closer and whispered, “He fell in punch bowl. Is why he has no shirt.”

“But he kept the bandolier and hat?”

“That was me,” Sam winked as he slid a plate of waffles covered in whip cream and strawberries across the counter toward Lily. “And may I just say, you ladies are welcome.”

“Why do you all hate me?” Steve grumbled, striding in the room.

“Don’t pout, Captain,” Wanda teased.

“Tight leather pants are right up there with smedium shirts,” Lily giggled into her cup of coffee.

“What’s smedium?” Steve frowned.

Lily exchanged a look with Wanda. “Nevermind,” they said at the same time.

He arched a brow and crossed his arms over his chest, making that lovely smedium t-shirt pull in all the right places and dry out the corners of Lily’s mouth.

She shouldn’t be drooling over the man who’d practically rescued her, given her a place to stay, and introduced her to people she was quickly growing fond of when her heart was broken over the betrayal of her boyfriend and best friend and the death of her mother. But she couldn’t help the curl of lust and admiration which warmed her belly with how pretty he was.

“I don’t believe you, either of you,” he muttered and looked at Sam.

He held up his hands. “Don’t ask me, man. Must be a girl thing.” Sam shot Lily and Wanda wink.

Steve threw up his hands. “You’re all lying!”

Lily swiped her finger through the whipped cream and popped it in her mouth even as she giggled. “Why don’t you have a waffle, Steve?”

“Don’t try and change the subject,” he muttered.

“But they’re so good,” she smiled, using her fork to cut off a piece and scoop it up. “Try it. This is my second round.” Lily held it out to him; then the realization hit that she was offering the man, one she barely knew, a bite from her plate and pulled the offering back. “Sorry, that was too forward.”

He sidled up beside her and wrapped his big hand around hers on the fork, ducked his head and stole the waffle, strawberry, and whipped cream from the end. “Who could resist Sam’s waffles?” he murmured as he chewed.

Lily’s eyes were locked with his mouth, unable to look away. “You… you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full.”

He swallowed and licked his lips. “Forgive me?”

She’d never had such an intense reaction to someone in her entire life. The heat from his body was like standing in the sun after days of rain. His hand so gentle on hers betrayed his strength. Something about his presence made her feel safe.  Calm. Relaxed. When his free hand moved toward her wing, Lily shivered in anticipation and nearly whimpered when he didn’t make contact.

“I will be… right back,” Wanda murmured, vacating her stool and taking the photo album with her. “Sam, help me find my other ones?” She practically darted around the island, grabbed the man by the arm and quick marched him from the room, Sam protesting the entire way.

“Subtle, Wanda,” Steve murmured, rolling his eyes.

“What just happened?” Lily asked quietly.

“Nothing. It’s nothing,” he said, letting go of her hand and moving away toward the coffee maker.

Lily fiddled with her waffle, finding her appetite suddenly less intense as her stomach was tied in knots. “Steve?”

“Yeah?” He didn’t turn from his place in front of the coffee pot.

Biting her lip, Lily picked at the seeds on a strawberry with her fork. “I… I don’t mind… if you touch them.” His back went ramrod straight as he seemed to stiffen all over. “If you want too,” she finished, feeling lame and uncertain now.

He turned to face her, a cup of coffee held in his hands, but Lily didn't bother to look up. _Stupid girl_ , she chided herself, _making foolish offers like that_.

“I thought you said they were sensitive?”

She shrugged, causing her left wing to flutter and stretch out slightly behind her. “They are.”

“You didn't seem to want Bucky touching them.”

Lily tucked her chin even lower. “Forget it.”

She pushed from the stool and hurried out of the kitchen. _Stupid, stupid girl. Looking for pets like you're a damn cat_. Just because no one but her mother had ever touched them, or showed her any affection when they were out, didn't mean other people would want too. She'd just thought - with how he'd talked her into showing them to everyone else - that he might want-

Her wrist was caught, and she was swung around so fast she landed with a thump against his hard chest.

“I don't want to forget it, Angel. I'm just trying to figure out your boundaries. You want me to stroke your feathers, but I don't want to overstep here. You're not a bird; you're a person. I don't want to assume liberties you'd rather I didn't take.”

She stared up at him in shock, her hands trapped between them on his very pleasing, smedium encased chest. He was so big compared to her; Lily wanted to melt, sink under his skin where no pain or sorrow could find her.

“No one but you and my mom ever… ever really…” She flicked the left one out and curled it around him. Steve's hand, previously gripping her elbow, instantly buried in her feathers and Lily bit back a moan.

“You can feel that can't you?” he murmured, gently stroking the grey plumage.

“Like fingers in my hair,” she sighed, her eyes closing on waves of happy bliss. “It feels… good.” It felt freaking fantastic, but explaining to the man who was petting her so nicely that certain spots on her wings were erogenous and others just felt pleasant wasn't a conversation she was currently up for. Especially when the current place, deep within the underside of her wing, a protected area not easily accessible unless one stood close or was engaged in an intimate embrace, the place he'd found with unerring skill, sent the same sensation skimming through her body as a set of lips on her throat.

Then his fingers were skimming outward, through her secondaries, into her primaries, and up to the arch, leaving nothing but a warm tingle and desire to purr behind.

“I think you're a little touch starved,” he murmured, “if the only one who's seen and touched them was your mother. Is that what you want, Angel? A little light petting to take the edge off?”

 _Oh, God_ … He made it sound wonderfully filthy, though she doubted that was his intention.

Lily opened her eyes, unable to pinpoint when she'd closed them, and looked up into hungry blue ones. Oceans of emotion curled on waves of need in those dark depths. His desire was laid bare, and Lily gasped softly, seeing it so starkly aimed at her.

“Steve?” she breathed.

“Angel,” he whispered. “You've just had your heart broken.” He said it as if he were reminding himself more than her. “I'm not gonna take advantage.” A promise. “That would be wrong.” Another reminder. “I'm a gentleman.”

She was kind of doubting that last part. Not with the filthy mouth he seemed to have on him. “How much of your public image is bullshit?” she murmured and watched a smirk crawl across his lips.

“You callin’ me out, Angel?” he asked, following her wing as she began to pull it teasingly away from his fingers.

She tilted her chin up. “If the shoe fits, Captain.”

“Ouch!” He gave a mock wince. “That hurts.”

“You’re just full of shit, aren’t you?” Lily laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist. She leaned her head on his chest and sighed. “Thank you, Steve. For everything.”

“Does that mean I can have your waffles?” he asked, his hand gentle on the arch of her wing, the other firmer on her waist.

She snorted and gave him a shove that didn’t move him an inch. “No! But I might be convinced to share.”

“And how do I go about convincing you to share?”

“Um.” Red washed into her cheeks. “It’s… hard to clean my wings myself. I mean, if they get wet in the shower, they get heavy and take forever to dry out if I can’t sun myself, but if you want to help…” Dear lord, what was she getting herself in too? “They could stand to be… wiped down.”

“And how does one go about wiping them down?” he asked, curious excitement filling his voice.

“A spray bottle works best. Something that mists gently. And a soft towel, like a shammy. You’ll only be able to do the one, but it’s been years since anyone-” Lily’s voice caught on a choked back sob.

“Angel,” Steve murmured, framing her face with both hands. “I don’t want to make you sad.”

“I’m just sad, Steve.” She gave a watery smile. “That’s not your fault.”

“I don’t want to make you sadder,” he said, brushing tears from her cheeks.

She shook her head. “Have you ever had your hair washed by someone else?” He frowned but nodded. “That’s what having my wings cleaned feels like. Like having your hair washed. It’s… wonderful,” she sighed. “Mom did it for me when we knew it was safe. When we were alone, and I had all day to let them dry. I put them away damp once. It was not a good experience.” Her nose wrinkled, remembering the terrible mildew smell and the horrible look of her feathers. “I was little, maybe seven. I liked having them out at night. She’d cleaned them for me and then one of the neighbours showed up unexpectedly. It wasn’t until the next night that I let them out again and both of us nearly gagged.”

“When was the last time you had it done?” he asked, gently carding his fingers through her hair.

He was so much more affectionate than Michael had been. Lily wanted to arch and purr and lean into all the touching. “Years ago. Before the chemo and the drugs. She didn’t have the strength to do it after.” She clenched her fists at his hips. “Before she went into the hospice, she lived with me. One night I went in and laid there beside her with my wing over her. She called me by my father’s name. Said he would be so proud of me. She talked to him as she stroked my wing.” Tears welled, and Lily pressed her face into his chest. “I knew she had to go to hospice after that. She was barely lucid. I was barely making ends meet between our tiny apartment and the home care nurse. That’s how I ended up living with Michael. Everything I made working two jobs while trying to finish school went to caring for mom.”

“Lily. You’re amazing.”

She snorted in amusement and pushed away. This time Steve let her go, and she walked across the room to stare out the enormous windows of Stark Tower. “Amazing. She was amazing. I did what was needed. Worked too hard, for too long. Guess it isn’t a wonder why Michael…” She let the thought remain unsaid.

The heat warmed her spine before Steve’s hands landed on her waist. He moved like a silent mountain, unheard before the warmth of his big body betrayed his arrival. “If he’d loved you at all, he would have understood, and he would have _helped_ with your mother, Lily, not left you to struggle on your own.”

“He’s a lawyer, but only just. Don’t judge him for not chipping in, Steve. What money he made went to keeping a roof over our heads and paying his school bills. He may have been a lying, cheating bastard, but he was there for me when I needed him.”

Silence hung between them as they both stared out the window at the city.

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, breaking the rising tension. “You’re right. I don’t know anything about Michael. I only know the hurt of the angel I found lying broken in the park last night. If you loved him, he couldn’t have been all bad.”

She sighed and rested back against Steve, ignoring the twinge in her broken wing. “Did I love him though? I thought I did. Am I hurt by the fact I walked in on my best friend riding my boyfriend? Yes. But if I really loved him… wouldn’t this hurt more? Would it be so easy to stand here with you and feel…”

“Feel what, Angel?” he whispered against her ear.

Lily turned her head enough to see him bathed by sunlight, his blue eyes beautiful and soft. “More. More than I ever did with him.”

“Maybe it’s because you don’t have to hide with me,” Steve murmured, his gaze drifting down to her lips. “I get to see all of you. The real Lily Tangela.”

“Maybe… or maybe it’s something else.” She couldn’t look away, watching as his baby blues darkened and his tongue darted out to wet his lips.

“What something else?” he whispered inching closer.

“Something… something my mom used to tell me about dad.”

“You gonna elaborate?”

“Was taking a page from your book, Captain Concise.” How unfair was it, the length of his eyelashes. Was it really necessary for a man to be so pretty?

He chuckled softly. “You’re a lot lippier than I realized.”

“So I’ve been told.” If he didn’t freaking kiss her soon, she was going to spontaneously combust.

Then the elevator dinged, breaking whatever spell they’d been under, each taking a step away from the other. Lily didn’t dare look away from the windows, knowing her face would be bright red until she found a little composure and managed to slow the rapid-fire pace of her heart.

“That will be Nat and Bucky,” Steve murmured.

“Okay,” she nodded.

“I’ve got a briefing in twenty minutes, but I’ll be back an hour or so after that, okay?”

“I’ll be fine, Steve. You go do Captain America things.”

“Lily?” he frowned.

She gave a little sigh and looked up at him. “Everything is fine, Steve. Really.”

“Can I still… clean your wing later?” he asked quietly, a shyness she hadn’t seen before causing him to tuck his hands in his pockets.

“Yes, Steve. I’d like that.”

“Great!” A boyish grin replaced every ounce of shyness. “I’ll get everything together. Nat and Wanda will show you where you’re staying and help you get settled. Eat your waffles!” he said, making his way out of the room with a bounding stride as Natasha and Bucky wandered in.

“Little punk. What’s got you so wound up?” Bucky snickered. “Or do I need to ask?” He shot Lily a look that made her blush.

Steve smacked Bucky in the back of the head as he went by. “Briefing. Let’s go.”

“But I just got back!” Bucky whined. “And I can smell Wilson’s waffles.”

“He made them for Lily, jerk. Hurry up! You know how the Director gets if we’re not on time.” Steve grabbed Bucky by the collar and dragged him along.

“But...but _waffles_!”

“Sucks to be you,” Steve said, his voice fading as he dragged Bucky down the hall, back toward the elevator.

“So,” Natasha smirked at she sauntered closer, packing two duffle bags with her. “How was breakfast?”

“Fine…” Lily muttered, heading back into the kitchen to eat the tasty, albeit slightly soggy waffle. But when she sat down, she found her appetite had deserted her and could only push the food around.

“What did the mountain of beef do?” Nat asked, sliding on the nearby stool.

“Nothing. Maybe something. I don’t know.” Lily shoved the plate away and laid her head on the island. “When did life get so confusing?”

“About the time you sprouted wings and flew into the arms of our fair Captain,” she laughed, dragging the waffle toward herself and digging in.

Lily turned her head and frowned at Natasha and the two bags sitting on the island. “That looks like a lot more than just shirts, pajamas, and underwear.”

She only shrugged and smiled, chewing happily. “Figured you’re going to be a here a while. You may want a few comforts. Things you may not want to leave behind for Michael to get his hooks into. Especially after the conversation I had with him.”

“Natalia,” Wanda sighed as she walked back into the kitchen, arms full of photo albums. “What did you do?”

“You saw Michael?” Lily whispered, heart suddenly in her throat.

Natasha reached out and took her hand. “He was shocked to meet Bambi and Chuck, your two friends who came to get your stuff.”

“Oh, Lord,” Wanda sighed. “The airheaded cheerleader?”

“Well, yeah, Wands,” she said, her voice a higher pitch as she batted her lashes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “What else when I wear the blonde wig?”

“You wore a blonde wig?” Lily giggled.

“We’re not exactly inconspicuous when we’re out in public anymore. Most of us wear some kind of disguise to make it through the city without getting mobbed.” She gave the now empty plate a shove and hopped down from her stool, grabbed both bags and grinned over her shoulder. “Come on. We’ll get you set up. Gonna put you in the room next to Steve’s.”

“Oh…” was all Lily could think to say as her brain short-circuited.

“Then if you need to borrow any more shirts, you don’t have so far to go,” Natasha teased.

“I think I’ll be fine,” Lily muttered, eyeing the two duffles.

“Are you always obsessively organized?” the redhead asked as Lily and Wanda followed her down the hall.

“It’s a curse?” Lily mumbled. “My life before…” Pain swelled, but she pushed it down. “My life before was hectic. I worked two jobs and went to the academy as well as visiting with mom. If I wasn’t organized, I was late. Starting with NYPD… that was the first time I only had to work one job. If mom hadn’t…” Her breath hitched. “I would have gone home and had a solid eight hours sleep and never known...” She sniffled and dug Steve’s handkerchief out of where she’d tucked it in the breast pocket of his shirt. “Sorry. I think I’m just going to water myself for a while.”

Both Natasha and Wanda slowed to a stop. Each reached out and took a hand or an elbow and gently squeezed, offering reassurance without words.

It just made Lily sob. “What am I going to do without her?”

They led her down the hall and into a room the mirror of Steve’s without all the added personal touches. Wanda encouraged her to sit on the sofa, an uneasy feat with her wings but they managed.

“Pietro was my brother,” Wanda murmured. “My twin. He died saving Clint and a little boy in Sokovia. We were linked, and when he left this world… I felt him go.”

“Oh, Wanda! I’m so sorry,” Lily said, wrapping an arm around her and leaning against the woman’s shoulder.

“Even now, I struggle. There is a place right here,” she tapped her chest, “where he is missing. A small hole no amount of happiness can touch. But what was once a gaping wound,” she pressed her palm down over her heart, “is now but a small scar. The loss never goes away. I miss him every day, but I have more family now. This is my home. The Avengers are my family. When I am feeling very sad, I try and teach Vis to cook. Or watch a movie with Sam. If Tony notices, he throws a party. Or Pepper takes Natasha and Maria and me on a spa day. We lean on each other. Now you, Lily, can lean on us too.”

“My heart hurts,” Lily whispered. “Did it feel like a hole bleeding in your chest?”

Wanda nodded. “For many days.”

Natasha appeared and sat on the coffee table with the Afghan from Lily’s apartment in one hand, and the glass unicorn she hadn’t even thought of in the other. “You didn’t ask for these, but I thought they might be important.”

Lily swallowed hard and nodded. “They are. Mom made that when she was pregnant with me. And the unicorn, I can’t believe I forgot about it. He’s the only gift I ever got from my father.”

“You didn’t know him?” Natasha asked setting the unicorn down before placing the Afghan in Lily’s lap.

“Only until I was three. He left, and then mom and I were on the move.” Lily swiped at her face. “There’s so much I don’t know. About me, about him. About where I came from. And now… I’ll never know.” Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

“I’m… not so sure about that,” Natasha said, reaching into the duffle and pulling out the binder her mother had used to outline her funeral preparations.

“How did you…?” Lily stared in amazement.

“I’m not ashamed to admit I used Barnes to flirt with the desk nurse while I snooped through your mother’s room.”

“Natasha!” Wanda giggled.

“What? He’s good at it!” she laughed. “He uses that forties charm and they all melt into a puddle. I’m sure Lily knows just what I mean.”

She mopped up her face and didn’t look either woman in the eye. “I haven’t a clue.”

“Sure,” they said at the same time.

“Now,” Natasha said, holding out the binder. “You have everything to look after your mom. And this,” she tugged a sealed envelope from within her jacket pocket, “may or may not give you those answers.”

Lily took the binder and placed it in her lap before reaching with a shaking hand for the letter with her name scrawled across the front. The handwriting was as familiar as her own, and she pulled the letter to her chest. Holding it there with her eyes closed, she could just make out the scent of her mother’s perfume, and couldn’t stop the fresh flood of tears from pouring down her face.

“Do you mind…” she whispered, unable or unwilling to share this moment, finding it too painful to bear in front of the women, knowing she was going to break, truly break, hard and fast.

“Just ask Friday to get us if you need anything,” Wanda murmured, hugging Lily around the waist.

“You’re not alone, Lily,” Natasha murmured.

“I know,” she whispered. “I just can’t…”

Wanda ran a hand over her hair. “I understand.” She stood and shooed Natasha toward the door.

Lily waited for it to click shut before standing and moving into the bedroom. It was like a super high-end hotel, but the plush bedding and pillows didn’t hold her focus for long. She set the binder on the end of the bed and went to stand at the window. She felt cold, almost as if her bones ached from a long winter, but not even the sun’s rays could warm her.

“It’s too thin,” she whispered to herself. The envelope couldn’t possibly hold all the answers to all her questions, but she wouldn’t know until she read it.

She used her nail and tore the end open slowly, knowing she would want to preserve her mother’s final words, and carefully tugged out the letter.

_My beautiful Lily,_

_If you’re reading this, then the cancer did what we both hoped it wouldn’t, and I’ve left you even though I promised you I wouldn’t. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep that promise. You know how much I hate going back on my word. A promise made…_

“Is a promise kept,” Lily whispered. “It’s okay, mom. I broke mine too.” Nearly within the same hour.

_I want you to know how proud of you I am. These last years have been so very hard on you, but you’ve come through them as poised and graceful as ever. I love you for it, my little angel. I love you for every ounce of compassion you’ve shown me, and for all the blood, sweat, and tears you’ve shed trying your absolute best to give me the best life possible. Your father would be so proud of you._

_I hope and pray you find a man as good and kind and strong as he was. He was the best of men, but I’ve told you that before. Remember the story I told you about love and finding love, Lily. Don’t settle for less than what I had with him. Don’t give up on Everlast. I know you think you’ve found that with Michael, and for your sake I pray you’re right, but if you doubt at all, my angel, don’t be afraid to keep looking._

_Your father was the beginning and the end for me. I want you to find that too._

_I know you have questions about him, about what you are, about who you are, and where you came from. He never told me the whole truth. He said it was too dangerous for me to know. If I did, I might speak their name and draw them to you. All I know is they seek to eradicate your kind. When he left, it was with the promise to find you on your eighteenth birthday. When that didn’t happen, I knew in my heart he was gone from this world._

_I’m sorry I can’t give you all the answers. I’m sorry I’ve left you with more questions and a slim hope of ever finding them for yourself._

_Please don’t grieve long for me. Don’t let my passing darken your pure heart, my angel. Shed your tears, but lift your head and move on with your life._

_May your guiding light be the beacon of hope in this dark world. May you guard the people as your father did before you. May you find your Everlast as I found mine._

_I love you, Lily, and I will always be in your heart._

_Forever._

_Mom_.

Lily set the letter on the window ledge and sank to her knees as her heart splintered into pieces she wasn’t sure she could ever put back together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: language, angst, fluff  
> This chapter brought to you by the beautiful @the-real-kellymonster via Coffee Updates! Thank you for your love and support, hun!

## Chapter Five

* * *

Steve itched to leave the briefing. It was impossible to concentrate, and for once, he thanked his lucky stars for his eidetic memory which gave him perfect recall as he could no more focus on Fury and his briefing then he could stop thinking about Lily.

He'd come on too strong. He knew it. Lily was hurting, and he'd been laying down innuendos and comments of an inappropriate nature. She didn't need that from him. Not now. She needed comfort, support, and care — not grabby hands.

 _But she liked grabby hands_. Steve tried hard to ignore the inner voice which reminded him of how genuine and uncertain she'd sounded permitting him to touch her wings; how hope and longing had filled her voice. But he'd wanted no misunderstandings and asked for clarification because he genuinely didn't want to overstep her boundaries. Was touching a woman's wings like grabbing her ass? How was he supposed to know without asking?

Then she'd described it as if it were a scalp massage, but he knew damn well there was more to it than that. Lily had zero poker face, and Steve knew bliss on a woman when he saw it. They were _sensitive_ and more so than she was letting on, but it seemed only in certain spots.

On his way down to the briefing, he'd shot off a text to Alex, one of the interns, stating he needed a misting spray bottle and the softest shammy cloth she could find by the end of the meeting.

Bucky had told him about the run-in with Michael, Natasha and her role-playing, and how not once did the man ask if Lily was okay. Only wanted to explain, and made it clear Lily had no people in her life except Michael and the woman who'd been her best friend.

 _Some friend_. He gave a derisive snort.

“Rogers. Am I boring you?” Fury asked, pulling Steve from his musings.

“Not at all, Director.”

Bucky smirked at him. “Steve caught himself a girl. A sweet little angel. He's preoccupied for a legitimate reason.”

“Fuck you, Barnes,” Steve grumbled.

“You kiss this new girl with that mouth, Captain?” Fury chuckled.

“He hasn't kissed her at all yet,” Bucky quipped.

“Shut your hole, Buck,” Steve growled. “I'm sorry, Director. It won't happen again.”

Fury shrugged while Maria smirked at him from the corner. “As I was saying…”

Steve tried to pay attention, he really did, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Lily, and there was a funny ache building in his chest he could no longer ignore. It felt like the bitter sorrow of loss. Pain. Overwhelming anguish seared through him.

He glanced at Bucky who was rubbing his chest in the exact same spot, but it was when the two women standing beyond the glassed-in conference room burst into tears that he grew concerned.

“What the hell?” Fury muttered, wiping a tear from his cheek.

Maria gave a ragged gasp and pressed her fist to her mouth.

“Steve?” Bucky was staring at him wide-eyed when Wanda burst into the room.

“Steve! You must come!”

He surged to his feet and ran out after Wanda, snagging the bottle and cloth from a weeping Alex on his way by her. In the elevator, he could feel the heaviness of the sorrow grow greater as it climbed. “God, Wanda! What is this?”

“Lily. It's Lily,” she gasped. “She can amplify her emotions, but I did not realize to what extent. In the med-ward, she laughed, and it was pure joy. Now, this is pure sorrow. Natasha brought letter from her mother. She would not let us stay. Now she cries and… I didn't know what else to do. She is so broken, Steve.”

“You did the right thing.” Even if it felt like his heart was being crushed in his chest.

The elevator doors slid open, and a haggard-looking Sam and Natasha hung off Vision's arms.

“Make it stop.” Sam looked ready to burst into tears.

Natasha was fighting hers. “I tried to talk to her, but I can't even get close to the door.”

“Everyone get down to a lower floor. You too, Vis.” He wasn't sure what the android was feeling, but he looked sick.

They got on as he got off and forced his way down the hall toward the room next to his. Every step was like swimming through a sea of soul-crushing pain and sorrow until he reached the door, out of breath and panting. His hand shook as he turned the knob and shoved it inward.

“Lily!” he cried. It was like his head was full of noise, deafening his ears, and his voice came out louder and more desperate than he expected.

Her head snapped up with a wrenching sob, but the pounding emotion ended, and Steve fell in the door to his hands and knees.

“Steve!” There was a scuffle before she was there beside him. “Oh, my God! What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?”

“Just… just give me... a second,” he panted, resting his head on her shoulder. He felt like he’d been blown out a window into a truck. Having experienced that action more than once, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. “Damn, Angel. You pack a wallop.”

“What?”

He lifted his head to find Lily frowning at him, but her eyes were red, and her face tear streaked. She looked confused and somehow still so sad. “Oh, baby,” he whispered bringing his hands up to frame her face. “It’s gonna be okay, Lily. I know it hurts. I know you miss her with every breath, but you’re gonna be okay.”

“Steve,” she whimpered as fresh tears welled. “I miss her so much!” She threw her arms around his neck and sobbed on his shoulder.

“I know, Angel.” With her wing bound, and the other shaking with every shuddering breath she took, Steve found it difficult to comfort her crunched as they were on the floor and stood quickly, lifting her like a child, both hands beneath her thighs, to stride toward the bed where he sat on the corner. Her knees settled to either side of his hips. Her wing went lax against her shoulder and feathers pooled on the floor.

“I know how much it hurts to lose your mom, Lily. But I need you to calm down just a little. You’re projecting, and it’s making my chest hurt.” Not like before, but the weight was steadily growing again.

She sniffed, her arms tight around him. “I don’t know what that means.”

Steve ran gentle hands up and down her ribs. “You’re emotions, Lily. You’re projecting your sadness to the upper floors of the whole tower.”

Shock sent her wrenching back from him. “I… what?”

He grabbed her arms before she tumbled from his lap. “You project your emotions. I could feel the crushing weight of your sadness, Angel. So much pain.” He cupped the back of her neck and gently squeezed.

She blinked bright gold eyes at him. “I… I didn't know I could do that. It's never happened before. I'm so sorry, Steve.”

“Hey…” He drew her close and held her as she shook and hiccuped and fought back the tears. “It's okay. Everything will be okay.”

“No. No, it won't.” She snuffled and shook her head. “I don't know anything about myself. I hoped so hard for answers about who and what I am, and she didn't have any!”

Lily wrenched herself away and stalked to the window where she picked up what must have been her mother's letter. “She wouldn't talk to me about him. Always said, “When the time was right.” Well, the time was never right, and now I find out she couldn't tell me anything because he didn't tell her! He was supposed to come back, Steve!” She thrust the paper at him.

He took it and skimmed through it quickly, his heart clutching every time he read the word _angel_. “Lily…”

She swiped her arm under her nose. “I guess I always hoped, _dreamed_ he'd show up one day. Explain everything. Tell me who I am. _What_ I am. What we are. Now, I've got no hope left. I’m just so… lost.”

Everything about her seemed to sag. The vibrant internal light Steve hadn’t realized radiated so strongly from her faded to a glow no brighter than a firefly. Her wing suddenly appeared to be weighed down by stones and fell to the floor behind her, too heavy for her to carry any longer. Her head hung low, and she gripped her elbows turning her knuckles white. She looked so broken, so defeated, he couldn’t stand it and slowly rose to his feet.

Steve placed her mother’s letter on the bed, stepped closer, and gently took Lily’s chin in his hand. “If you’re a little lost right now, Angel, that’s okay ‘cause I’m here. Trust me. Lean on me. I may never be able to put a name to what your father was, but I can help you figure yourself out. You’re not alone, and you don’t have to go through this by yourself.”

“But what if me being here draws whoever these people are who hunt my kind to you?” she asked, her lashes spiky and damp, framing her golden eyes.

“We took on the Chitauri and won. I’ve gone toe to toe with Thor and walked away. We took out a metal AI bent on eradicating the world. If, and that’s a big if, something comes looking for you, Angel, there isn't anything that can get through me to hurt you. I _promise_ you, Lily.” He made it a promise, a vow like her mother used, purposefully. “We’ll figure this out, together. We may not get all your answers, but I think we can find enough, so you don’t feel so lost anymore.”

Before she could say anything, Steve tugged another hanky from his pocket and used it to dry her face. “I know this is hard. I can see from her letter how close you two were. My mom and I were the same.” His hand slowed in its gentle wiping when memories swamped him. “I was sick a lot. She took care of me. Taught me to read, to draw, to sew.” A smile twitched his lips when her mouth fell open.

“You can sew?” she gasped.

“Someone had to fix the bullet holes and knife cuts in my suit when we were chasin’ across all of Germany. Don’t tell him I told you so, but Bucky can darn socks.”

“No!”

The light in her was slowly returning, gradually brightening her skin and eyes, forcing the heavy feeling from the room with each incremental rise of her wing.

“He can, though you’ll have to promise not to say anything. Otherwise, he’ll tell everyone that I hem my own pants, and yes, I do add the darts to the back of all my shirts, so they fit around the waist.”

A quiet trill of laughter burst from Lily, and it was like the sun shone again. Relief slammed through him so hard Steve had to brace his knees to stay on his feet. He finished drying her face and tucked the hanky back in his pocket. Though a little puffy and red around her eyes, he thought her beautiful and lightly brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “You’ll be alright, Angel. That sadness? It ebbs and flows like the tide. One minute you’ll be fine and the next it will hurt as much as it does now. And just because she was sick and you knew it was coming, doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Steve.” Her hands had long ago pressed to his heart, but they lifted to frame his face. Golden eyes darted back and forth between his as if she searched for an answer only she could find. Then she had her arms around his neck, and her petite body pressed to his. “I’m sorry about your mom. And I’m sorry if my pain is making you remember yours.”

“I don’t mind rememberin’. She was a good woman I don’t think about nearly enough.” He held her gently, his hand somehow finding its way beneath her left wing to brush lightly over her bare skin. “Will you promise me something?”

“Depends on what you're asking?” Her breath tickled where it washed across his throat.

“Until we figure out how you're projecting your emotions, I want you to come and get me or have Friday notify me if you need a good cry okay, Angel?” It was going to be hard enough explaining the sudden mass surge of hysteria downstairs without giving away the involvement of another…? He didn’t know what to call her.

Initially, when he’d seen the wings, he’d thought inhuman, possibly mutant or enhanced, but with the wording of her mother’s letter, Steve was beginning to suspect Lily might only be half human. What the other half was? They may never know.

“That may be for the best,” she sighed. “I didn’t… I didn’t hurt anyone did I?”

“Physically, not really. But you pack an emotional wallop. You would be amazing in a crowd or at a riot. Once you figure out how to control it, you could calm a group of angry protestors like it was no one’s business.”

“What do you mean by _not really_?”

She pulled back to look at him, but Steve wouldn’t let her go. Not yet. “The pain you felt, the sadness, it amplified. It felt like a weight crushing my chest, and a bunch of people burst into tears, but it stopped as soon as you calmed down.”

Panic and fear filled her eyes. “This has never happened before. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Though he was reluctant to stop touching her skin, Steve reached up and tugged her arms from around his neck. “C’mon. If we’re gonna talk this out, we’re gonna do so while doing something to make you feel better.” He grasped her hand and pulled her along, out of the room.

“Like what?” she asked, but a quiet, “Oh!” escaped her lips when he bent and picked up the bottle and cloth he’d dropped on his way down the hall.

“You’re not backing out on me now, are you?” he teased gently, tugging her into the kitchen and toward the sink.

Lily shook her head. “Warm water.”

Steve arched a curious brow.

She arched one right back. “Would you want to be spritzed with cold water?”

“Fair point.” He checked to make sure the water was warm before filling the bottle. “I know the perfect place for this,” he said with a grin, grabbing her hand again to lead her into the living room and toward the staircase.

“Steve? Where are we going?” she snickered, trotting after him.

“You said something about sunning yourself.” He damn near dragged her along, his heart pounding with anticipatory excitement. “And Tony’s got all these windows and all these couches back here.”

“The man does nothing by halves does he?” Lily giggled, shaking her head at the enormous sitting room meant for quiet contemplation - or drinking - while looking out over the city.

“I originally thought it was just a big ugly building with his name plastered on the side, but from inside, you can see why he built it the way he did. It showcases New York at its finest.”

“That it does.” Lily sat on a wide lounge seat grabbed a fat pillow, and shot him an almost shy glance before stretching out face down. “This usually works best.” She fanned her wing out, spread the feathers apart, and allowed it to rest on the floor.

Her feathers were magnificent. Shadowy grey's, light absorbing blacks, and shots of silver made up the veining. While they weren’t the size of her white pair, they were still as long as Steve was tall.

Instead of leaving it lay spread out over the floor, he pushed a couple of stools together and slipped them beneath the thick ridge of bone.

“Thank you. That’s nice.”

Steve smiled at her, amazed all over by the lightness of the wing. “Is there a specific technique to this?”

“You can give them a pretty good misting, then wipe gently in the direction of the feathers. They need to be damp so they can dry naturally, but too wet and it takes forever. They’re pretty close to bird wings with the waterproofing and all.”

“They look like hawk wings,” Steve said, sitting on another stool as he got to work.

“Mm. Hawk. Swan. Eagle,” she murmured, her eyes drifting closed.

“Eagle? Your battle wings?”

“Yes. They’re big and heavy. I don’t bring them out often. Not for a lot of years. It’s dangerous to have them out.”

“Why?”

She cracked an eyelid and smirked at him. “You’ll have to wait and see, Captain.”

He rolled his eyes but let it go, returning instead to the conversation of before. “I don’t want you worrying about projecting, Angel. What happened was an accident. Accidents happen all the time. Tony or Bruce blow shit up on a regular basis. Bucky forgets where he puts his grenade belt once in a while. Never a good idea. Sam flew into a window and scared the crap out of the ladies on the tenth floor. And don't even get me started on Barton and Thor. These things happen.”

“And what about you? Or are you Captain Perfect?” she smirked at him.

“You already know I got drunk and fell in the punch bowl,” he grumbled.

“I just wanted to hear you admit it.”

“Big talk for an angel whose wing is in such dangerous territory.” He gave a few of her feathers a gentle tug.

“Ouch!”

“Oh, shit! Did that hurt? I only meant to-”

She burst out laughing. “Sweet but gullible.”

“Rude,” Steve grumbled and sprayed the bottle toward her face. Of course, it did nothing but mist the midsection of her wing, making her giggle as she closed her eyes again.

Steve worked in silence for a while, gradually getting closer to her. He admired the subtle stripes in her plumage and how beautifully the feathers all ran together. The primaries and secondaries. The converts fanning out from the scapulars.

He may have Googled bird wings last night before going to sleep, just for research purposes, but now he was glad. The different shapes of her feathers, the long pointed primaries and short, slightly more round secondaries where what gave her wings their majestic edge, while the smaller converts had tufts of down at their base, making them appear fluffy even tightly packed together.

When he got to the base of her wing the feathers changed. Right at the wing bed tufts of fluffy down tickled his fingers. Then, small round feathers, almost like scales flowed from the root into the scapulars and out into the lesser converts.

Here Steve lightly dampened the end of the cloth and wiped down her feathers.

“Already feels better,” she murmured, burying her face in the pillow.

“Thought you were asleep.”

“Almost.”

“You want me to do the underside?” he asked casually. It was clear from Lily's near comatose state the exterior of her wing was the comfortable “having her hair washed” part of cleaning her wings.

“If.. if you want to.”

Oh, he wanted to. “I'm up for finishing what I started.” The sentence came out a lot deeper than he intended. “Do you need to… roll over?” He wasn't sure of the logistics of how that would work with her broken one bound to her back.

“I'm good.”

She lifted her big as fuck wing straight up in a move that left Steve staring. “You must have some killer back muscles.”

Lily giggled and sighed when he stood and began to lightly mist her primaries. She'd arched the appendage out slightly to make it more accessible.

“Isn't that uncomfortable?”

“No. I can kinda lock them in place, like a cocked hip or knee. When I was fifteen, mom found us this piece of land to rent in the middle of nowhere Nevada. There wasn't a neighbour for miles around and this one really hot day she cleaned them for me, all three sets, and afterward, I just sat in the yard with them outstretched, soaking up the sun until dinner time. It was wonderful.”

“I bet.” Steve spritzed a wider patch, then set the bottle down so he could wipe the excess water off and run his fingers through her feathers. A funny little sound rippled from her throat and made Steve chuckle. “Are you purring?”

“Shut up. I am not,” Lily grumbled, rubbing her cheek on the pillow.

She had so been purring.

Steve dug his fingers into her plumage and stroked. She squirmed a little and shivered. “Cold?” He wasn't sure how when the sun pounded down on them through the window.

“Shivering helps create heat to dry them faster,” she murmured.

He worked his way along her wing, watching the water droplets sparkle and her feathers shimmer. The quiet humming sound was back. Steve smirked a bit, unable to help himself. Everything about her was just so adorable and sweet. She may have a sassy mouth, a little lip she shot his way once in a while, but that just proved she had spine.

She would fit in well with them.

Steve paused in his gentle wiping. When had he decided she was staying? What if she didn't want to? How hard would it be to let her go if she chose to return to her old life?

Her feathers fluttered, her primaries dipping, a gentle reminder she was still there, like Natasha when she wanted a foot rub, but he was preoccupied watching football so she'd wiggle her toes to remind him.

Steve sprayed down a new patch and returned to wiping and stroking. The further into the pit of her wing he ventured, the harder she struggled not to squirm. And when, finally, he returned to the group of feathers he'd fondled earlier, he showed her no mercy.

He dug his fingers in and carded through her feathers slowly, watching as her cheeks flushed. She turned her face into the pillow to muffle the sexy as hell moan she was doing her best to contain.

“Feels good, does it?” he asked, kneeling beside her as he began a slow, meticulous manipulation of her feathers.

He watched her body tense, her breathing become rapid, and could smell her arousal bloom. A smirk twitched his lips, unable to stop himself from petting her, stroking her, touching her kitten-soft feathers.

Steve lowered his head to rest on his arm, curled on the sofa beside her, enthralled by the soft sounds she tried to hide. “Angel,” he whispered, letting his fingers drift down to the fluff of down where her wings attached to her back and stroked them gently over her bare skin.

She turned her head slowly, allowing him to see the flush on her cheeks first before dark lashes lifted to reveal her hungry eyes full of craving and need. “Steve,” she sighed.

Slowly he moved toward her, giving her time to turn away, but she remained still, her gaze on his mouth as her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

A quiet sound of want slipped from Steve's. He shouldn't, he really shouldn't, but what his brain knew was right and what his heart wanted were entirely at odds as his lips descended toward hers.

“What in the Sam hell is this!?”

Steve jerked back, and Lily lurched upright, her wing closing with a snap as she scrambled off the couch and turned to fight.

“Director,” Steve grumbled, climbing to his feet after narrowly avoiding being smacked by Lily's wing to stand guard between them.

“Rogers. What the hell is going on up here? Who is that, and why wasn't I told about a winged woman?” Fury demanded.

A surge of fear and anger washed over him so quickly, Steve swallowed his answer and spun to face Lily. “Angel, you gotta calm down.”

“You said I'd be safe!” she snapped. “Locked down so no one would get in! Now the Director of SHIELD is standing right there!”

“I know, Angel. I'm sorry. I didn't know he was gonna-” Steve's explanation and apology ended abruptly with the tearing of her bandages as her broken wing snapped outward.

It drooped, clearly still hurting her, but it seemed fear and the desire to flee overrode pain when a stroke of her wings took her over the sofa. She landed with a grunt and pushed off, running for the balcony railing.

“Lily!” Steve shouted, chasing after her, too late to do anything but watch as she dove over it in a swan dive that would have been the most graceful thing he'd ever seen if he hadn't been terrified her wing would fail and she'd slam into the floor.

It fluttered, but held long enough for her to get to the ground, then collapsed to the floor behind her, her voice breaking on a sharp cry of pain.

He didn't stop to think, just vaulted after her, landing hard enough to make him grunt as he tucked and rolled up to his feet, catching up in three long strides.

Steve slammed into her back, forcing her wings apart before she could do something foolish like put them away. “Angel, stop!” He swept her broken wing in, closed his arms around her waist, and lifted her off her feet when she tried to fight back. “Lily!” he bellowed when her struggles never slowed. “You're gonna hurt yourself!”

“Let me go!” Her heel slammed into his thigh and head would have broken his nose if he'd had normal reflexes.

“You're not going anywhere, dammit! Cut it out, or I swear I'll make you!”

“No one can know!” she cried, sagging in his arms.

“I know. I know, Angel,” he murmured, his face tucked into her hair. “But the Director can keep a secret. He's pretty good at it.”

“Until he spews Intel like a volcano all across the internet!”

She wasn't wrong, but she wasn't being fair either. “Lily. You and everyone else know why that had to happen.”

“I can't do this…” she whimpered.

“Yes, you can. I'm right here. I promised nothing would happen to you, and that includes protecting you from Fury if necessary.”

She gave a terrified sob. “I've lost so much… I don't want to lose my freedom to.”

“No one is going to take that away from you, Angel. They'd have to come through me first.” He directed the last at the man in black making his way down the stairs with hardly a sound.

“Captain? An explanation forthwith would be appreciated.”

Lily shivered, and a sense of dread pressed down on Steve. “Angel,” he whispered against her ear. “Take some deep breaths. You're okay. You're safe. No one's taking you anywhere. You're staying with me, right, Angel?”

She gave a shaky nod and gripped his arm so hard he was sure she left nail marks in his flesh.

Steve turned toward Fury and finally set her back on her feet. “Nice kick, by the way. My thigh still smarts.”

“Good,” she grumbled.

It was perverse how much pleasure her snarky attitude gave him. “Director Fury, this is Lily. As you can see, she has a unique skill set.”

“And just where has she been hiding this unique skill set?”

“She can make them disappear.”

Fury cast a hard glance over the two of them before focusing on the wing Steve had pinned down. “Broken?”

“Yes, sir.”

He grunted. “She the reason the office went nutty?”

“Yes, sir. But Lily is still learning the extent of her abilities. It was an accident. Her mother passed away quite recently,” Steve said as a way of explanation.

It was only a glimmer, but something in Fury's eye softened when he looked at Lily. “My condolences.”

“Sir, her presence here is best kept a secret until we've gotten a better understanding of all she can do and her wing has healed and can be put away.”

Fury was silent for a long moment before nodding. “Witch hazel.”

“I'm sorry?” Steve frowned.

“Witch hazel, for the break. It's an anti-inflammatory you rub around the area. And vitamin C aids repair on an internal level. Once your,” he smirked at Steve, “Angel is feeling better, I want a full briefing. Until then, team floors are in lockdown.”

“Thank you, sir,” Lily whispered, her wide eyes announcing her surprise.

Fury only grunted and marched away toward the elevators.

“You can trust us, Angel,” Steve said softly against her ear. “Come on. I don't think you destroyed your bindings, just tore the knot free. Let's see if we can't rewrap this for you.”

She’d been shaking since the moment she’d stopped fighting, and it wasn’t slowing down.

“Lily, sweetheart. Just take a breath. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Her hands scrubbed viciously over her face. “I panicked. I'm sorry.”

“I know. Don't worry about it. Fury could scare the white off rice.”

She barked a liquid sounding laugh. “Utterly terrifying. And I just made an absolute idiot out of myself.”

Steve carefully shifted his hold on her wing until he could move around in front of her and look her in the eyes. “I think you impressed him.”

“Huh? How!”

He ran his free hand over the arc of her good wing. “These are pretty impressive on their own, but that dive you took over the railing? That was impressive. Then you tried to kick my ass. Also pretty impressive. You're stronger than you look.”

“Well…” She looked at her feet and linked her fingers to twist them together. “It takes the bigger guys on the force by surprise.”

“Plus he offered suggestions. If he were only annoyed, he would have barked orders and grunted. Instead, he asked questions, offered suggestions, then barked orders and grunted.”

“I'll take your word for it. I still feel like such a dumbass.” She shook her head and heaved a heavy sigh.

Steve cupped her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look at him. “You're ass is not dumb.” It was cute and pert, and he'd like to get his hands on it. “And having Fury show up and yell like that when your not expecting it would make anyone bolt.”

She closed her eyes and dropped her forehead to his chest while mumbling, “Worst timing ever.”

“Why's that?” Steve asked, feigning confusion.

“Um…” She didn't look up but stiffened all over.

He bit back a chuckle, bent at the knees, and wrapped his arms beneath her butt to lift her straight up.

“Captain! What are you doing?” Lily gasped and grabbed his shoulders.

“Expediting our return to the second floor so you can finish sunning yourself,” he smirked up at her. “Though, it would be easier if you helped.” Her knees were currently digging into his gut after all.

A smile slowly spread upon her lips. “Is this a line?” she asked, wrapping her legs around his torso.

Steve kept her high against him so she wouldn’t notice his misbehaving cock. It had jerked when she’d called him Captain but was sitting up begging now that her legs had wrapped around him. She was such a tiny thing. So light. She was barely bigger than him when he was still a shrimp and looked delicate even with her wings. Ethereal. Exactly like an angel.

Except for the smirk on her face. That look belonged to the devil himself.

“Can’t say,” Steve grinned, heading for the stairs. “Never tried to pick up an angel before.”

“You’ve picked me up, what? Three times now?”

“Something like that.” Not wanting to jostle her around, he took the stairs one at a time, nice and slow, keeping a tight grip on her wing.

“Then I’m pretty sure this is a line, Captain.” She skimmed her fingers up the back of his neck.

He hit that last step a touch harder than intended but managed not to stumble on his way back to the couches. “Angel, I…”

Her smile faltered, and pink filled her cheeks. “Oh… oh, I just thought…” Fluttering lashes lowered to cover her golden eyes.

“Lily, Angel face…” Carefully he shifted her back to the ground beside the pile of bandages. Still holding her wing in place, Steve lifted the other hand to cup her cheek, then slide back to grip her nape and keep her in place, momentarily distracted by how short she was. She was adorably tiny with her big as fuck wings.

She stared up at him, her golden eyes confused and sad, and made him sigh, angry with himself for putting that look on her face.

“Let’s get this wing wrapped up. Then we’ll talk,” he murmured, gently massaging soothing circles into her skin.

A small jerk of a nod was her only response before she used her foot to snag the bindings from the floor. It took some teamwork and a little effort, but only a few minutes to see her broken wing secured to her back a second time. It might not have been as neatly done as Wanda’s effort, but it would hold for the time being.

Then he coaxed her back down onto the couch, and Lily fully extended and arched her damp wing a second time while Steve lowered himself to the floor and returned to his previous position. She hugged her pillow tightly and stared at him with trepidation.

“Angel.” Steve lightly stroked the little round scale feathers at the base of her wing. “You’re thoughts aren’t wrong. I feel a real pull with you.”

“I feel it too, Steve,” she whispered.

“I just don’t want to make moves here when you’re… vulnerable.”

A small smile twitched her lips. “Such a gentleman.”

“My mother raised me right,” he chuckled, tilting his head to the side to align their faces. “Your emotions are runnin’ hot, and things are moving really fast. I don’t want you to regret doing something with me when everything is so volatile.

She pressed up on her elbows - causing Steve to lift his head - and looked down at him only inches away. Her gaze dropped to his lips. Then she raised her hand and carded her fingers through his hair before settling them at his nape. “I don’t. I couldn’t. It’s clear from my mom’s letter I’ve been holding on to something I should have let go of a long time ago. But I couldn’t. For all he hurt me, I hurt Michael too. I should have let him go instead of using him like I did for so long.”

“Angel,” Steve sighed. “Still doesn’t excuse the cheating.”

“No, it doesn’t, but I’m not completely innocent either.” Her lips lowered, drawing closer to his. “I used him when mom was sick. I used him to get by. I loved him for that, but I wasn’t _in love_ with him.” The warm brush of her breath on his lips made his head spin. “He wasn’t my... “

His gaze dropped to her lips. “Your what, Angel?”

Golden eyes drifted back to his and held him spellbound. “He wasn’t my Everlast.”

Her head lowered, her lips, lush, pouty, pink, and parted seemed to beg for his, along with her heavy-lidded eyes, and Steve was all too happy to oblige her. They closed the distance at the same time.

“Oi! Punk!” Bucky bellowed from the lower level, his feet tromping up the stairs. “We allowed back up here or what?”

Steve collapsed to his back on the floor in frustration. “Fucking cockblocked me again.”

Lily burst out laughing and buried her face in the pillow.

“Whoa, what’s going on up here?” Bucky asked as he ducked under Lily’s wing. “And why are you on the floor, Rogers?”

Steve shot him a glare before addressing Lily. “You need Bruce to recheck the break?”

She giggled when she peeked at him from behind her pillow. “It’s fine. Nothing moved or popped. The clip held up okay.”

“What happened? Why would Lily need to get her wing checked again? What did we miss?” Bucky asked, frowning at the bottle and cloth laying beside Steve. “And what the hell have you two been up to?”

“Certainly nothing fun,” Steve grumbled, climbing to his feet while Lily snorted a new laugh into her pillow. At least she was laughing again. Not sad or frightened, and he ran his fingers over the extended arc of her wing. Still damp, but drying quickly now that she was back in the sun. “Come on, jerk. Lily needs to rest. I’ll explain everything else to the others.”

Bucky arched a skeptical brow, but only grumbled as he headed for the stairs.

“Hey, Steve?” Lily said before he could follow.

She was holding out her hand when he looked her way, and he took it as he crouched down at her side. “Yeah, Angel? You need something before I go?”

She glanced over her shoulder. Then her hand streaked out to grab a fistful of his hair and pull him forward. Their lips met and heat sizzled. Sparks flew. Fireworks went off. It was the most intense three seconds of Steve’s life. Then she gently pushed him back, and he fell on his ass where he sat, staring at her in amazement.

“I’ll see you later, Steve,” she said quietly and laid her head on her pillow.

“Mm, uh… yup.” He found his feet out of sheer will and headed after Bucky. It felt like he tingled all over in the best possible way, and grinned like a dope at his best friend.

“So… no fun, huh?” Bucky smirked.

Steve glanced back at Lily sunning herself. “Well, maybe a little fun.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Feels, smexy and feels, angst and feels, Tony, Pepper, Steve and Bucky being sweethearts, language
> 
> This update brought to you through Coffee Updates care of @curiositywillbethedeathofme! Thank you for the support, luv!

* * *

 

The quiet intake of breath woke Lily from her sleep. Her wing had relaxed, spreading out over the stools like before, but it was the kid staring at it with awe in his face that gave her pause.

_Seriously_? First the director of SHIELD, now some random teenager. Who else was going to walk in? The President?

His hand was just hovering over the edge of her feathers when she twitched and sent him leaping back, over the sofa and nearly to the window.

“Okay, how did you do that?” Lily asked, lifting and stretching her wing before folding it back to her spine. It was dry and warm and felt nice against her skin. “Who are you?”

“P-p-p-eter,” he squeaked.

“He's part of the team.”

Lily looked over her shoulder to find Steve coming up the stairs. “Really?”

“Spider-man,” Steve chuckled.

“Oh.” She looked back at the boy. “Well, that makes sense.” From the pictures she'd seen of him, Spider-man was svelte and lean. That he was a teen made his size make sense.

“Cap!” Peter squeaked, his voice breaking.

“Guess that's why he's here when team floors are in lockdown?” she smirked, sliding off the sofa to her feet and stretching her arms over her head. “That is one fine couch.”

“Glad you like it,” Tony snickered bounding up the stairs.

“She has wings!”

They all looked at the boy who appeared to be close to hyperventilating.

“And you were bitten by a radioactive spider, and he played fast and loose with German chemicals,” Tony smirked, thrusting a thumb at Steve. “To each his, or her, own.” Then he walked over to Lily and took her hand. “How you doing, sweetheart? I heard there was some excitement earlier.”

Lily looked away, red warming her cheeks. “I'm sorry. I didn't know-”

“Not your fault, Lily,” Steve interjected. “No one blames you.”

“Still. I don't know how I did it. I feel terrible.”

“Don't,” Steve said moving closer, drawing her away from Tony. “It was an accident. Accidents happen.”

“Okay, yeah. You're right.” She took a deep breath. “Is Pepper around? I should probably get started… make some phone calls…” Her voice broke, but she managed to stave off the tears.

“Angel,” Steve murmured and tugged her in for a hug. “It's gonna be okay.”

Lily melted easily into his embrace. After the toe-curling kiss of earlier, she knew she'd been wrong about Michael. He was not her Everlast. That title went to Steve, but she wasn't sure how to explain what that meant.

She'd known him all of a day, and he'd seen her at her worst. Not exactly the best first impression. Plus there were so many things to do before she even considered bringing up what an Everlast was.

Still, she sighed and enjoyed the heat and strength that radiated from him in waves.

“C'mon, Angel. The kid gets to train with Cap today. Why don't you and I go see about making those phone calls.”

She released Steve to give Tony a watery smile. “I'll have to get my phone from Natasha.”

“Oh!” He began to pat his pockets, chest, hips, and down his thighs before appearing to grab his ass, but his hand returned with a sleek black phone. “Ah, ha! Knew I had it.”

He tried to hand it to her, but Lily frowned. “That's not mine.”

“It is now. You're on our system. Friday can handle any calls you don't want to receive.”

She thought about Michael and sighed. “Yeah. I'm not quite ready to deal with all… that. Soon as I break it off, I'm going to be homeless.”

“You have one here,” Steve and Tony said at the same time.

“Thank you,” she smiled, “but eventually I'm going to have to go back to my real life.”

“You mean your not a new Avenger?” Peter asked, creeping closer.

“Lily is… complicated,” Steve murmured, looking down at her. His face said nothing but his eyes were soft. “She's a secret, Peter. That's why I told her yours.”

“Quid pro quo. Gotcha,” the boy grinned. “They're super cool, though. How did you keep them hidden? Where are you from? Are you a mutant? What about-”

Steve put his hand on Peter's shoulder. “I'll explain what I can later. For now, let's give Lily a chance to make some calls, while you and me chase each other around the training hall.”

“Sure thing!” Peter chirped and made Lily chuckle. The kid clearly loved it here. “Um, but.. could I?” He lifted one hand and pointed to her wing with the other.

Lily laughed at how hopeful he looked and extended her wing.

Peter ran his hand over her primaries and sighed. “So soft…”

Still chuckling, she pulled her wing back then took the phone from Tony. “Thanks for this.”

“Of course.” He linked their arms together and drew her toward the stairs. “You know no one is going to run you off, right? You're welcome to stay more than the allotted time it takes that to heal. And with these alleged baddies looking for your kind, what better place than here to be safe?”

Lily sighed. “I know, it's just… I worked so hard to get where I am. My first day with NYPD didn't go quite as planned.”

“Understandable.” He patted her hand. “But a lot has changed for you in the last twenty-four hours.” He led her into the kitchen and pointed at a stool. “Sit. I'll make you tea.”

“You seem more the copious amounts of coffee type,” Lily chuckled.

Tony smirked but went to boil the kettle. “True, but I think excessive amounts of caffeine is the last thing you need.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Lord only knows what would happen if I got hyped up on caffeine then let… whatever that was earlier loose again. People would be ping-ponging off the ceiling.”

Tony's hand stalled, then twitched toward the coffee pot. “No. No. I can't chance it. Though I would enjoy watching it.”

“You'd be living it,” Lily snickered, finding him less intimidating than she thought he would be.

He shot her a smirk. “Honey, I'm living it right now. I can't even count how much coffee I've had.”

“You're five cups in, and I'm cutting you off,” Pepper said as she came through the door looking just as sleek and put together as she had that morning.

Lily tried not to feel like a frumpy dwarf next to the glamazon in heels. Then Pepper smiled at her, and Lily felt terrible for thinking Pepper would ever actively make her feel inferior. There wasn't a nasty bone in Pepper's body.

“Steve said you were sunning yourself?” she asked, confusion furrowing her brow.

“He cleaned my wing for me,” Lily said, then blushed. “Um… sunning - spreading the feathers out to soak up the heat - dries them faster.”

Pepper and Tony exchanged an indistinguishable look. “Well,” Pepper said as she slid on the neighbouring stool, “I'm glad our fair Captain has been so helpful.”

“He's been really kind,” Lily murmured.

Again they exchanged a look, this one slightly smugger than the last. “Steve is inherently kind,” Pepper smiled and patted Lily’s hand. “Now, we can talk about arrangements,  or we can give it a day. Up to you.”

A weight settled in Lily’s stomach like a ball of lead, and she took the tea gratefully from Tony when he slid the mug in front of her. “No, I don’t want to keep her waiting. The hospice had her body sent to the funeral home already.” She pulled her new phone from her shirt pocket and stared at the two missed messages. She’d really expected there to be more, but if the tower AI was screening her calls, maybe not. “Just let me check these.”

“Take your time,” Pepper assure her, smiling at Tony when he handed her a cup of tea.

Lily dialled her voicemail and flinched at the sound of her Captain’s voice. He wanted an explanation - when convenient - as to why the Avengers were fielding her calls and asked her to deal with her boyfriend because he wasn’t her secretary. Then he sighed and murmured fresh condolences, letting her know she had two weeks bereavement leave.

The second was from the funeral home. They were waiting on directions, though the hospice had provided them with the outfit her mother had chosen before her passing and wondered if she would like to view the body before they began.

The world spun hard, and Lily dropped the phone, then gripped the edge of the island, blood pounding in her ears. She breathed through her teeth, bile rising in her throat and tears burning her eyes. A hand landed on hers, causing her to release a sharp expulsion of air.

“Lily, take a deep breath.”

She shot a glance at Tony who was gripping her hand tightly. “I can’t!”

“Yes, you can. You’re having a panic attack, darlin’. Try to match mine.” He inhaled and exhaled in an exaggerated fashion.

She followed as best she could, shaking all over, her tears dripping down her face. “They want… me to… see…”

“They want to know if you’d like to see your mom?” Tony said, his hands gently massaging hers. “It’s perfectly okay if you can’t. You don’t have too, but sometimes it’s good for closure.”

She closed her eyes and shook her head, whispering hoarsely, “I keep falling apart.”

“It’s been less than a day, sweetie,” Pepper murmured, lightly stroking Lily’s hair. “You’ve got to give yourself time to grieve.”

Then Tony’s hands were framing Lily’s face. “I know how hard this is. It’s okay to lean on us.”

Her eyes watered for a whole new reason. “You’re all so nice, and you don’t even know me.”

A crooked grin appeared on Tony’s lips. “Well… we _may_ have done a deep dive on your background, so we know you a little.”

Lily burst out laughing. “Of course you did!”

Tony chuckled and smirked at Pepper. “So let us help. Okay?”

“Okay,” Lily nodded. She took a deep breath and blew it out. “I don’t think I can see her. Not now.”

“That’s fine,” Pepper patted her hand. “Can I ask if she wanted to be buried or cremated?”

Lily knuckled the tears from her cheeks. “Buried. Full internment. Mom was Catholic to the bones and wants- wanted to be buried at Calvary in Queens. She liked the atmosphere.”

“It is nice there,” Pepper agreed. “What about a service?”

Lily shook her head. “It was just mom and me. Michael and Jenny would have…” she cleared her throat. “Now it's just me.”

“Nope. Now it's all of us,” Tony corrected. He pulled what looked like a flexible piece of plastic from his pocket and was on the Cemetery website before Lily could ask what he was doing. Then his phone, for surely that was what it was, was pressed to his ear. “Yes, I'm calling on behalf of Officer Lily Tangela in regards to her mother Rose,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.

Lily could only stare after him. “He really just did that.”

“Welcome to the family, Lily,” Pepper chuckled.

She shook her head, unable to believe it. “Did I fall down the rabbit hole?”

“No. You flew into the arms of our Captain. Which,” she cocked her head, a sly grin on her face, “is kind of similar.”

Lily had a warmth bloom around her heart and reached for Pepper's hand. “Thank you. For everything.”

“Oh, sweetie. You haven't seen anything yet,” Pepper chuckled.

***

A whirlwind couple of hours later, the majority of the arrangements were made. Her mother had advanced directives in place, more than Lily had realized. Everything from the cemetery to the casket to the funeral home was dealt with. Most of her mother’s personal papers were in order, but Lily had spent an exhausting amount of time on the phone with the funeral home going through everything step by step. By the time she finished, she was numb to everything.

Emotionally, mentally, and physically drained, she just wanted to curl up in the fetal position and turn off her brain. Unfortunately, her bound wing made curling up damn near impossible, so she was face down over the corner of the mattress when the knock came at her open door.

“You okay there, dollface?”

Lily turned her head and looked at Bucky leaning against the door frame. She gave a half-hearted shrug. He wandered through her sitting room and came to sit on the floor beside her.

“Tony said you got most of the arrangements made.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “Mom had a lot of it figured out. She didn’t want me to worry, and it looks like her life insurance will cover most of the costs.” Still, she had hospice bills and a majority of other expenses that would really pinch her pennies in the future.

Bucky poked her in the forehead. “Then what’s that for?”

“What?” Lily asked, staring cross-eyed at his finger.

“The squinchy little furrow right here. You worried about somethin’ other than your ma?”

She turned her face to press into the mattress, removing his finger from her forehead. “It’s not important.”

“Aw, c’mon, Lil. You can tell me. I’m good with secrets. That is if it’s a secret.” He ruffled her hair, then tugged her ear.

“Are you always this annoying?” she asked, turning to glare at him.

He chuckled and tilted his head into the bed. “Yup. At least, so Steve and Sam assure me.” Lily snickered. “Hey! There’s a smile.”

“There something I can do for you, Sergeant Barnes?”

“Oh! Ouch! The pain!” He fell dramatically to the floor. “I thought we were friends.”

She poked him in the ribs. “We've known each other less than twenty-four hours and spoken the equivalent of thirty minutes. Are you always this inclined to make friends?”

“Nope, but I'm an excellent judge of character.” He sat up and tweaked her nose. “C'mon. Tell friend Bucky what the scrunchy face was for.”

He was dopey, but it was adorable and made her giggle. “You're such a dork!”

He gasped in mock insult. “A dagger to the heart would be less painful. Here.” He pulled one seemingly out of thin air. “Plunge it deep and put me out of my misery.”

Lily couldn't help it. She burst into loud peals of laughter that had her wheezing and wiping tears from her eyes. “Maybe I should have called you a diva instead,” she teased only to look up and find him staring at her in awe. “What?”

“Your laugh…” He blinked big blue-gray eyes at her.

“What? What about my laugh?”

“Joy…” he whispered then shook his head as if to clear the shock. “Sorry. You took me by surprise. That was incredible.”

She continued to look at him in confusion. “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Like with the sorrow earlier today, but this was all joy. You lit up. Glowed like a candle. It was neat.”

His excited smile had her worry falling away. “Great. Now I can be my own nightlight.”

He barked a sharp laugh and hauled himself to his feet before reaching down and lifting her to hers.

“Wow! Warn a girl will yah?” Lily giggled and stumbled into him.

“Shit, you're a lot lighter than I thought,” he grinned cheekily. “Without the wings, you'd be light enough to toss across the pool.”

“Don't even think about it!” she huffed, tightening her grip on his arms. “I don't swim all that well.”

A new smirk, slightly smug, curled his lips. “Stevie swims real well. We could always get him to save you. He's good at that.”

Lily arched a brow. “I may not swim well, but I'm not going to drown either.”

“Private lessons then?” he grinned wickedly. “You should see all that in swim shorts.”

The thought of seeing that lovely smedium encased chest sans shirt, wet and dripping had saliva pooling in Lily's mouth and red washing through her cheeks. When he chortled, she punched him in the chest. “Cut it out!”

“Aw, it's all good, darlin’,” Bucky laughed and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “He was utterly useless for ‘bout twenty minutes after you kissed him.” Her blush burned hotter. “S'okay though.” He pulled back. “Stevie's tradin’ a long way up from your last beau.”

“Beau?” Lily snorted a laugh. “What? Are you a southern belle? Should I pack the smelling salts, Lady Barnes?”

He threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Damn, doll!” He held up his hands in apparent surrender. “You win! I can't compete with that lip.”

She snickered and linked her arm through his when he offered. “Where are we going?”

“Dinner. And it's games night.”

“Games night? What kind?”

He grinned, and it was a touch evil. “Depends on what you're good at. There's Halo and Mario Kart for the people interested in gaming. And board games for those who  tend to break the controllers.”

“And who breaks the controllers?” she asked, figuring she already knew.

“Thor a couple of times has forgotten their plastic. Peter once during Halo. Again, overexcited. And Pepper.”

“I'm sorry?” Lily almost choked as she turned sideways to slip out the door.

He chuckled softly. “Yeah. Tony blew her up, and she chucked the controller at his head. He ducked, but the controller slammed into the wall, and well, smash.”

“That seems… unlikely,” she snickered. “Pepper is so collected and calm. She was right there with me today, asking questions I hadn't even thought of yet. I wouldn't have gotten through all of it without her help.”

“Pepper's had years to perfect that cool exterior what with working with Stark for so long, but occasionally the red in her hair reminds everyone of her temper.”

He said it with such affection she knew it didn't matter if Pepper lost it and blew up. All of them loved her, and they really were a family.

It was refreshing to see them all so connected when they were all so different. Lily had spent so much of her life hiding her truest self, it was nice to have people to share her heritage with who didn't lose their minds when seeing her wings.

“My mom is- was Catholic,” she murmured. “We spent time at mass when we weren't on the move. I was never sure how I felt about God and all those things. I always thought, “if God was real, he wouldn't have made my dad go away,” but… then mom died and in a moment of complete despair I did a desperate thing and found myself here with all of you.” Bucky had stopped walking and she looked up at him, smile soft and eyes damp. “I still don't know if He's real, but something brought me to Steve in my darkest hour. For that, I will always be grateful.”

His eyes were damp by the time she finished. “I've spent a lot of years contemplating that same thought. I went through a lot of bad before Steve found me in Romania and brought me back. Before they worked a miracle on my brain. But I am here, and for all the bad - the years as a Hydra pawn - I wouldn't change it, cause being here for Steve, being part of this team, was worth all that sacrifice. I too can't say whether I believe in God, but if He is real, he sent us an Angel and that's some pretty damning evidence to the positive.”

Lily threw her arms around his waist as fresh tears flowed. “Thank you, Bucky.”

His hands landed on her waist. “I'd hug back but I don't want to squish something I shouldn't.”

She chuckled and looked up at him. “Give me a few days to let that heal and we can try again.”

He was staring at her wings as she spoke and finally whined, “ _Please_ can I touch them? The punk kid got to touch them.”

Lily laughed but nodded, curling her left wing forward as she stepped back so he could run his hand down the outside. “You know Peter is just a boy right?”

He gasped and this time the shock wasn't feigned. “Wait, _Parker_ got to touch them! I was talking about Steve!”

***

The hour was late when Friday woke him. “Captain? Lily is awake and appears troubled.”

Steve was already swinging his feet to the floor and tugging plaid pajama pants up his legs before she finished. “Thanks, Friday.”

He glanced at the clock. It read two in the morning. They'd barely gone to bed an hour ago after a night of pizza, games, and fun.

Lily had fit in perfectly. So perfectly, she'd been radiant. Laughing and joking with Bucky like they were old friends. Teasing the heck out of Sam and ganging up on him with Peter. She'd convinced Bruce to play Mario Kart with her, and then ribbed him mercilessly when he proceeded to spank her at it, calling him a Kart shark. Wanda and Nat had dragged her away to join Tony for a round of Canasta, and partnered together, Lily and Tony had squeaked ahead and beaten the two women. But not by much. Then she'd soundly beat Vision and him at Sorry, a cute giggle escaping every time she made one of them start over. She'd absolutely wolfed down the pizza like she hadn't seen food in a month, and they'd all done their part to keep her spirits up and her mind distracted.

And every time she laughed, something deep in her soul flared out like a lighthouse beam, pulsing through the night. 

He'd hovered a little. He knew it. And the smirking faces of his teammates said it all. They knew he was sweet on her, and they were all onboard.

By one they'd all been falling down tired and slowly drifted off to bed. Wanda went with Lily in case she needed help with her clothes, and that was the last he saw of her.

“Where am I going, Friday?” he asked the AI.

“Upper lounge.”

Back where she'd sunned herself earlier, he padded silently through the kitchen and up the stairs to find her standing before the windows, wrapped in a colorful afghan.

“Lily?” he murmured, not wanting to scare her.

“Steve?” she turned to face him and squinted into the shadows. “Did I wake you?”

“No. Friday did. Is everything alright?”

He stepped from the shadows and watched her eyes widen and hunger fill the golden depths before she spun back to face the window. “I'm fine. It's just difficult to sleep with this wing bound. I can't get comfortable.”

“But you've slept with them out before.” He had a thrill race through him with her appreciation of his low slung pants and bare chest. It seemed she liked what she saw.

“I have, but it's different when you can shimmy them around and be comfortable. This position,” she shrugged her shoulder, “isn't comfortable. And…”

Her voice trailed off. “And?”

She held out her phone. “I need to make a call.”

“You realize it's two am.”

She shrugged. “Does it really matter? He'll still pick up.”

Steve arrived at her side and notice how her blanket was tucked under her free wing, but around the bound one, giving her an interesting silhouette. “Do you want me to go?” She shook her head. “When you're ready,” he murmured, crossing his arms and leaning against the cold glass.

Lily took a deep breath and pressed the call button, the number just waiting to be dialled.

He could hear it ring on the other end, no different than if the call was on speaker, and the muffled voice of Michael when he picked up.

“‘llo?”

“Michael.”

“Lily!” A scrambling came like he was pushing back bedding. “Where are you? I've been looking everywhere! These people came to our apartment today-”

“Bambi and Chuck. Yeah. I asked them to pick up a few things for me.” A small smile curled her lips, a little vindictive, and made Steve grin.

“Who the hell are those people? Do you have… _mob connections?”_  he hissed. “Is that why you and your mother were so secretive about your past?”

Her eyes slammed shut as a wave of pain washed out and made Steve's chest hurt. He reached out and cupped her cheek, causing her eyes to pop open. “You've got this,” he mouthed, nodding encouragement.

She took another deep breath. “Michael, we were never secretive, we just moved a lot. I've told you that before. And no, Bambi and Chuck are not part of the mob.”

“They didn't just take a few things, Lily. They took almost all your stuff! Are you _never_ coming back?”

Anger furrowed her brows. “Why would I want to?”

“C'mon, Lily! You've got to let me explain.”

“Explain what, Michael? How your dick found it's way inside my former best friend? Or how she just happened to be fucking you the night my mother died? I'm doing fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

There was a resigned sigh from the other end of the line. “Baby…”

“Don't. Don't even start.” She thrust a hand through her hair. “You've been wonderful, Michael, helping me out when my mom was sick, but let's cut the crap. You weren't happy, or you never would have turned to Jenny.”

“Baby, come on. It was one time-”

“One? Dammit, Michael! Don't lie to me! Jenny said, and I quote, “We didn't want you to find out this way.” That doesn't imply it was a one time thing, especially as you made her _dinner first_!”

Her voice rose to a sharp pitch, and Steve skimmed his knuckles over her jaw. “Easy, Angel,” he whispered.

She sighed and leaned into his touch. “I can't deal with this on top of everything else, so I'm going to make it easy for both of us. I'm done, Michael. You were an absolute saint about my mother and my issues, but neither of us were getting what we needed out of the relationship. I'll be by in a few days to get the rest of my things. Tell Jenny I don't want to talk to her for a while.”

“Lily! Stop being obstinate. Where are you going to go? You'll be homeless!”

The desperation in his voice arched Steve's brow. “Hey, Angel?” he said loudly. “I'm real sorry about your ma. You need anything before I head to bed?”

“Who the fuck is that?” Michael snapped.

She glared at him while Steve only grinned, then rolled her eyes. “Well, it's not Bambi or Chuck,” she huffed. “Thanks, Steve. I'm good.”

“Who the fuck is Steve!”

Michael's voice went up an octave and made Steve snicker. “Of course, Angel face. You know I'd do anything for you,” he purred.

“Lily!” Michael demanded.

She pulled the phone from her ear and hissed at Steve, “You're an absolute shit!”

Steve only chuckled.

“He's a friend,” she grumbled to Michael.

“Is he a friend you've been fucking on the side? Sure as hell sounds like it!”

She went still as stone, then cold as ice. “When between working two jobs, school, and the hospice would I have time to be dicking around? _Don't_ try and make me the bad guy here, Michael!” she spat when he began to sputter.

“Then where did you meet him? Hm? Where did all these _interesting_ new friends come from?”

“That's not any of you business, but if you're going to be like that, I met them at the academy.” She flinched at the baldfaced lie but forged on. “Now, I've had a long and very hard day, I've said what I needed to, and I'm going to hang up now. Don't call me, Michael. If I need to be in touch, I'll call you. And if you call my Captain one more time, he'll have you charged with harassment. My whereabouts and well being are no longer your concern.”

“Lily! Don't you hang up on m-” His voice was muffled as someone else fought for the phone.

“Lily?” a female voice asked.

“What do you want, Jenny?” she asked, sounding exhausted.

“I'm so very sorry about your mom. Will you let me know about the funeral?”

Lily didn't say anything for a long moment, then, “I'll consider texting you. I don't want any drama.”

“Understood. I'm so sorry about every-”

Lily hung up the phone and stared at the gleaming lights of New York far below. “He's never spoken to me like that before.”

“Guilt can make people do and say crazy things.”

She frowned up at him. “And jealousy.”

“I’m sorry!” Steve threw his hands up. “He was being such a dick to you! I had to do something.”

“It was effective, “ she snickered, then sighed and thunked her forehead on the window. “She was still there, sleeping in my bed. She didn't even have the decency to wait till we broke up.”

“Angel,” he murmured, sidling up behind her and wrapping her in his arms. One slipped beneath her wing, and the other gently over it. “Their choices have nothing to do with you.”

“Still, all I've thought about was Michael's betrayal, but Jenny… we were supposed to be friends. Am I that crappy a friend that someone thinks sleeping with my boyfriend is fair game?”

“Of course not!” He was outraged she'd even ask that question. “I can't speak to their mindset, but Jenny at least asked about your mother and apologized.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “She did. And mom liked her a lot. I just don't know if I can deal with… them at the funeral. If Jenny comes, so will Michael.”

She pulled against him, and Steve let her go, taking a step back when she made to turn around. She looked sad and tired, heartsick and exhausted, and leaned against the window, slightly curved away from it thanks to her wings. Crystalline tears dripped down her cheeks.

“Oh, Angel.” Steve couldn't help but step in and lift her chin.

“I feel like such a sap,” she sobbed. “All these damn tears.”

“You're not a sap. You're grieving. Grieving a lot of stuff, I think.” He used his thumb and brushed her tears away. “Crying is healthy.”

“And headache inducing,” she grumbled. “I just really need my mind to turn off. What a shit day.”

“Only parts of it, I hope.” He threaded the fingers of one hand through her hair.

She looked up at him with her gold eyes and a softness filled them. “Yeah. Only parts. The rest was pretty nice.”

“Only pretty nice,” he murmured, his focus falling to her lips.

“Well, there was this one really incredible moment.”

“Do tell,” he chuckled, the hand under her chin skimming along her jaw to curl around the back of her neck.

Her hands drifted slowly to his waist, landing lightly on his skin. The contact blazed sparks up his ribs, and a quiet moan escaped her lips. “I think you know,” she whispered, her thumbs dragging softly over his hip bones.

A growl rippled in his chest, and he squeezed the nape of her neck as he drew her closer. He paused an inch from her lips, a smirk curling his as he cocked his head. “Just making sure.”

“About what?” she frowned, her gaze locked with his lips.

“No one's gonna cockblock me again,” he chuckled.

She snickered, but it was short lived when he dipped down and took her mouth. The same shockwave of fireworks ripped through his nerve endings. The same stars burst behind his eyelids as he sank into the warmth of her mouth. It was what he imagined sinking into a supernova would be like. A shock of heat and fire as the energy consumed him.

All he could feel was the connection with her mouth, the stroke of her tongue over his, and the soft breath she gasped when he broke from her long enough to tilt his head and seal them back together. Then, her hands moved over his bare skin, following the line of his hips and leaving fire in their wake before sliding up the ridges of his abdominals and skimming fingertips over his ribs.

She wasn’t the first woman to touch him like that, but she was the first to make him feel like he’d come out of his skin if he didn’t have her now. This instant. Without fail.

He shoved her blanket out of the way and found silk beneath. Pale blue, her nightgown was the thing of dreams, soft and clinging to her in all the right places. “Fuck!” exploded from his mouth when he hitched her beneath her thighs and dragged her up the window.  

Her thighs went around his waist, and her hands to his hair, dragging his head back so she could devour his mouth again. Then something soft brushed his back, and he jerked his head around to find her wing there, surrounding him, enclosing them in feathers.

Unfortunately, it also knocked him from the lustful haze of thoughts to realize exactly what he was doing. “Lily…”

She shushed him, a finger landing on his lips. “It’s okay, Steve,” she smiled and placed another soft kiss on his lips. This one tingled until she tilted her head and made it sizzle before she drew back.

“How the fuck are you doin’ that?” he murmured looking up at her, hardly able to breathe and well aware of the tent his pajama pants had become. She was so tiny, he had her propped higher than his hard cock could reach, but it would be impossible to hide if he had to set her down.

“It’s not me. It’s us,” she sighed before nipping her teeth into his lip.  

He lost his head after that and seized her mouth, dropping her down a few inches so he towered over her. This, predictably, brought her directly in contact with the length of his dick, now pressed firmly to her bottom.

She gasped then smirked wickedly. “Well, _hello, soldier_!”

Steve barked a laugh, then whimpered when his action sent his dick jerking against the heat between her thighs. “Christ, Angel. I can’t control myself with you.”

Her hands glided the length of his neck and over his shoulders, making him shiver and his blood practically boil. “S’okay, Steve. I feel the same way.”

“This isn’t the time,” he said, resting their foreheads together. “I wish it were, but…”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “You’re a good man, Steve.”

“Well, bully for me,” he grumbled making her chuckle as he dragged her back up the window those few inches. “Just, don’t move or touch me for a few seconds,” he continued to grumble and make her giggle, forcing his thoughts to things like Fury in a speedo, riding the Coney Island Cyclone, and baseball stats to reduce the tent in his pants to a bulge better disguised by the loose material before he could put her down.

She bit her lip, eyes laughing when she landed, and kicked the afghan up into her arms. “Gotta say, that’s an excellent way to turn my brain off and make me feel better about myself.”

He smirked and shook his head. “Anytime, Angle face.” Then he held out his hand. “C’mon. You gonna be okay to sleep now?”

“Yeah,” she sighed though her smile didn’t waver. “If I can find a comfortable position.”

Steve didn’t comment, just led her down the stairs and through the rooms, but when she made to stop at her door, he tugged her after him and into his suite.

“Steve?” she frowned up at him.

“I’ve got an idea.” He threw the covers back on his bed, knowing he’d swelter if he tried sleeping with them and in his pants, then sat and scooted back, tucking a few pillows behind him. “C’mere.”

She bit her lip a second time, her gaze running over him in a way that had him shifting his leg so she wouldn’t notice his cock twitch, and spoke clearly of her desire. Then she appeared to shake it off and crawled on the bed with him, forcing him to ignore the indecent view down the front of her nightgown. “What are we doing here?”

Rather than explaining, he took her by the arms and brought her down on his chest. Her breath hitched wildly once, then she slowly settled. This time he kicked her discarded afghan up, and with a flip and a snap had it spread out over them.

Wanda had bound her wing to her over her nightgown, keeping it from moving, but he tapped the other gently. “Lift this one out of the way.”

Lily stretched it out, and he slipped the blanket beneath before the feathered appendage landed lightly over them like a protective cover.

“This alright?” he asked, wrapping one arm around her waist, holding onto the binding and feathers, while threading his fingers through her hair with the opposite hand. Her head rested just under his chin, her knee on his thigh, and the rest of her was pretty much plastered to him, but the angle seemed to take the pressure off her bound wing.

“Perfect,” she sighed. “And look at you with your moves,” she giggled.

“Moves?” he asked, amused.

“You’ve gotten me into your bed twice in just over twenty-four hours. With game like this, no wonder you’ve got such good pickup lines.”

He belted out a chuckle as her arms went around him, one gripping his shoulder, the other playing with the hair on his nape. Her breasts were warm and soft on his chest, as was the rest of her, and he couldn’t help but press a kiss to her crown. “You keep teasin’ me, Angel, and I’m gonna retaliate.”

She snickered but remained silent. Eventually, her breathing slowed as they grew comfortable together. He was nearly asleep when she whispered, “Thank you for everything, Steve.”

He ran his knuckles over her cheek, kissed her hair again, and let his eyes close.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Feels, smexy and feels, angst and feels, language
> 
> This update brought to you through Coffee Updates care of @strawberrybalsamic ! Thank you for the support, luv!

* * *

 

Steve woke to eyes on him that had nothing to do with the woman warming his side. With his hand beneath the pillow, fingers curled around the blade he kept there, he slowly cracked his lids, then relaxed and opened them all the way. "What are you doing here, Buck?"

The former Winter Soldier leaned heavily against the door frame, hip cocked, and arms crossed, grinning for all he was worth. "You missed our morning workout. I came to see why. This wasn't what I expected."

"It's not what it looks like either," Steve grumbled. "She can't sleep flat with the wing bound."

Bucky's grin softened into a smile. "How's she doing?"

"She made the call last night. It went about as well as you'd expect."

Bucky winced. "Guess she's moving in. Maybe Nat and I should go back for the rest of her stuff."

"I think you'd better let her do that. Wouldn't want to miss anything."

"So," Bucky smirked, "we gonna talk about this?"

"Not at present." Steve shot him a glare. "And how about you get out of here before she wakes up."

"I should tell Sam. Let him know you're game is getting better," Bucky snickered as he left, shutting the bedroom door and then the exterior one.

Steve rolled his eyes. Of course, he'd tell Sam. And Sam would tell Wanda who would tell Vision and Natasha, who would tell Clint as soon as he got back today and then everyone would know because Clint was the worst at keeping personal confidences. But, while the others may smirk and tease him, he didn't think they'd let Lily know.  

She was fragile with her mom's death. They would be careful with her for a while yet.

He suddenly realized he'd been stroking the bare skin between her wings for a few minutes but didn't stop. Instead, he sought out the tuft of down at the base of her wing and played gently with the fluff. 

She shifted and sighed, her whole body melting into him. The purr he'd heard the day before began again — a quiet little ripple of sound that accompanied her nuzzling his throat and jaw. A soft hand brushed over his chest. Then, wet and warm, her tongue slicked over his pulse point and made his heart jump. 

“ _Arezodi bolape erm elasa, Everlast_ ,” she sighed. 

Steve glanced down, a frown pulling at his brows. “Lily?” Her eyes were closed, face soft in sleep still. “Friday, do you know what language that is?” he asked softly. 

“It isn’t in our database, Captain. I shall expand my parameters.”

He murmured a quiet thanks and went back to stroking her feathers. They were soft and warm and smelled lightly of sunshine. He hadn’t known such a thing was possible, that sunshine had a smell, but the scent brought visions of sun-soaked, flower-filled meadows and cloud dotted blue skies. 

He turned his face into her hair and found the dark locks smelled of lavender, delicate and light. Everything about her was so dainty and elegant, even those big wings. Sweet and tiny and sexy and soft. So damn soft. 

He buried his hand in her hair and stroked through the silky strands. It tilted her head back, bringing her face into focus. She was beautiful. Like a fairy or a pixie. Or an angel.

His angel. 

She sighed, and her lips parted. “ _A ror I a totza dazodisa od madariatza I a totza moanu._ ” 

“Lily,” Steve whispered, his hand tightening in her hair. He didn’t know what the strangely beautiful words meant, but they seemed to sing in his ears. Ducking his head, he pressed his lips to hers, a tender brush back and forth. 

When he drew away, her eyes were open showing sleep darkened gold, liquid and warm. “Mornin’,” he smiled. 

“Steve.” The hand that had curled around the back of his neck as she slept landed lightly on his cheek and gently stroked, drawing him down. 

Their lips met, and the air sizzled. Heat launched straight through him, seeming to wrap a fist around his heart and his groin. When her tongue brushed his lips, he happily let her in, and when she shifted to straddle his waist, he helped her, hands tight on her silk covered hips. 

Her hands spread over his chest and drifted up to either side of his throat. Her thumbs skimmed the edge of his jaw while she nibbled on his lip. 

Steve moaned and succumbed, submitted beneath the incredible onslaught of sensation. His body hummed and throbbed, so turned on he felt strung tight and reached for her wing. The warmth registered first, then the softness of her feathers slipped over his fingers straight to the knuckles when he buried them deep. 

She gasped, ripping her mouth away from his and arched back. Her wing flared wide and took out the pictures on his dresser, sending everything crashing to the floor. 

All movement stopped as they both froze. Then she giggled, and he snorted a laugh, and she collapsed down on his chest. They laughed until they were both breathless. 

“I’m so sorry. Hopefully, I didn’t break anything,” Lily sighed, tracing circles on his chest. 

“I’m sure everything’s fine, and even if it isn’t, frames can be replaced.” He brushed her hair out of her face. “Probably a good thing as it slowed us down.”

“Yeah.” She wiggled a little so she could cross her arms over his chest and leaned her chin on them. “We should talk.”

“I think that might be a good idea.” He stroked her wing lightly. “You were speaking a different language in your sleep.”

She frowned. “What?”

“Yeah. It was really beautiful.” 

Pink flushed her cheeks. “I don’t know any other languages.”

“Well, you weren’t speaking English,” he chuckled. "But it was beautiful. Musical even."

"I don't know anything about that, though I do remember my dad would sing to me. I always thought it was so pretty, but I can't remember anything other than that."

Steve traced his fingers over her furrowed brow. "It's okay. I asked Friday to run a match."

She started, and her eyes grew wide. "Does she monitor… everything?"

"Yes and no. She has a discrete ear out for oddities and clicks in when you say her name, but otherwise, things are filtered out and ignored."

"Oh, well, that's good," Lily sighed, her relief washing over him.

"You said that word again. Everlast."

She froze a second time, her lashes fluttering to conceal her eyes. "Um, yeah, we should probably talk about… that."

He rubbed his thumb across her lips. "You can tell me anything, Angel. I think you know that by now." 

The gold revealed itself with the slow lifting of dark lashes, peeking through, appearing to hold the wealth of the sun's rays in their liquid depths. "Then I need to start with a story. The story of my parent's meeting. It's a bit of a fairy tale." She turned her head and rested her cheek on his chest, letting her hands fall to his shoulders. 

"You gonna tell it, or just leave me in suspense?" he teased and could feel her smile against his skin. 

“They met at a music festival."

"What, like Woodstock?"

She giggled. "Sort of. It was a Blues festival. She said she saw him at an outdoor concert. Their eyes met across the venue, through flashing lights and the darkness. She said it was… magic."

"I can believe that."

Again he could feel her smile. "Have you ever heard the song I Put A Spell on You?"

"Can't say I have."

"Hm," she hummed. "I'd sing it for you, but then your ears would bleed."

Steve chuckled. "I doubt you're that bad."

"Cats in heat are less painful to listen to."

He grinned, fingers skimming her silk nightclothes. "Can you help us out, Friday?"

"Of course, Captain. Which version would you like, ma'am?"

"Oh! Uh, well, Mom always liked Nina Simone's version, but I prefer Annie Lennox."

She blinked big eyes at him, and Steve smiled. "Annie Lennox it is then." Through the speakers in the background, a sultry voice began to sing. It was sexy, seductive, yet full of longing. "I like it."

"That's good. There was a band doing a cover of this song playing on stage, but it didn't matter. She said the crowd faded out. The music became nothing but a purr of noise in the background. He cut his way through the people until he stood before her." Lily smiled and sighed, her eyes unfocused, lost to memories. "She was short, like me. He was a towering figure. He called her itty bitty and blushed because he was usually better at speaking to people than that."

"Did she laugh?" he asked.

"Only with him. She said he made her heart ache. It was instant, their love. It was a wildfire consuming them both. The touch of his hands on her skin was like liquid sunshine." Lily traced her fingers down his chest and left behind the same feeling. "He spent the rest of the concert tucked away with her, just talking, getting to know each other. Then he walked her home and kissed her on the porch. Mom always said it was like stars colliding. That there was nothing, no greater force in the universe than when their lips met."

Steve softly cleared his throat. "Sounds… familiar."

She looked up. "Three days later, he came back and showed her his wings. I imagine he told her the truth, at least as much as he could, and told her she was his Everlast."

"What's that mean?"

Her gaze sharpened and held with his. "It was one of the only things she taught me about him. Everlast. Everlasting. It's an instant connection. A deep bond. A well of trust and acceptance between two people."

He stared down at her in surprise. "Like… soulmates?"

"Yeah." She propped her chin on his chest. "I didn't understand what Mom meant in the past. I thought Michael was mine." Her eyes softened. "Until I met you."

He stared at her, processing. "You think it's me?"

"I know it is," she whispered. "I can feel it every time I'm with you. You pull at me, Steve. Two stars drawn together. Two strangers finding each other across a crowded room. Two hearts tied by threads unknown."

It sounded so farfetched, but then this was coming from a woman with wings; from a woman who projected emotions like magic. 

"Haven't you wondered why it's so easy?" she asked. 

"Why what is?"

"This. All of it." She pressed up to sit astride him. "Or did you think I was a slut for turning to you so fast after Michael?"

He surged up and grabbed a fist full of her hair. "Don't ever say that again."

She smiled and hooked her hand around his neck. "I won't. But you're it, Steve. I can feel it in my bones."

There wasn't an ounce of falsehood on her. "What happens now?"

"That's up to you. My parents were so deeply entwined, their love so blinding, at times it was difficult to look at them. They had five years of magic before he left. She cried every night for a year when he was gone. She never got over him leaving. He was it for her — an everlasting love. Even after ten years, she couldn't move one. I think without me, she would have died of a broken heart long before that."

He held her gaze and could feel the honesty like sunshine on his shoulders. "This is real?" It was dumbfounding, but he couldn't look at her and not want to touch her. He couldn't be near and not want to hold her. 

She was a driving force pulling him along. She was the sun he would orbit for the rest of his life if he could. 

Lily nodded. "It's real. It's not just you, Steve. It feels… right to me. You feel right to me," she whispered and placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth. 

"Angel," he purred and captured her lips. Heat and sensation rushed through him and made him moan. "Is it always going to be like that?"

"Always," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. 

As he sat there holding her, a goofy grin on his face, Steve realized their heartbeats had synced, beating in time. When he consciously forced his to slow down, so did hers. "Okay, that's neat."

She laughed but didn't dispute it. "Whatever floats your boat, Steve." She was smiling when she sat back. "I should probably head to my room. I need a sponge bath and breakfast."

"Or you could stay here, and I can help with your bath," he offered, sliding open-mouthed kisses up her throat.

"Tempting, but I think the next time we try this, I'd like it to be without my wings. I've already destroyed half your bedroom."

He chuckled softly but relented. "And even if I am yours, still doesn't feel right coming on the tail end of your break up and with your mom's funeral." Pain flooded out of her, and Steve pulled her closer. "It's all going to be okay, Angel. You'll see." Then he frowned as new emotions washed over him. "What's got you so worried?"

"Shit, I need to get a handle on this projection thing," she muttered, then sighed and turned her face away. "Mom's life insurance covers almost everything when it comes to the funeral, but I've months of hospice and hospital and doctors bills to pay for, I'm technically homeless, and out of work for a couple of weeks. I'm going to be eating ramen for the foreseeable future."

"Considering the only ones who like that stuff are Clint and Bucky, pretty sure we can scrounge you up some decent grub."

"Steve, I can't stay here indefinitely."

"Why not?" 

"Because I don't belong here."

"Why wouldn't you?" he frowned. "You're mine, right? Meant to be together. This is my home. It's safe. The people here already know about your wings. Tony has said you're welcome to stay. Why are you pushing yourself out the door?" He listened carefully to the influx of emotions pouring out of her. "Oh, I see."

She smacked his shoulder when he smirked at her. "Stop doing that!"

"Stop making it easy," he snickered. "Look, Lily, I get the desire to be independent. You've spent a lot of time relying on others, but we're not offering you charity. I'm pretty sure Tony is already figuring out how to keep you on as a permanent part of the team." Surprise rippled forth. "If that's what you want." He gently cupped her face. "You have a unique skill set, Angel. One I could see becoming an asset to us with a little training, and working with us, you could remain anonymous. You wouldn't be the only Avenger in a mask."

Conflict warred with excitement on her face. "I… I need to think about it. My wings are supposed to be a secret. Working with you… they won't remain that way."

He kissed her cheek and swung his legs to the side of the bed, helping her stand. "Take all the time you need, Lily. We can figure this out together. But just know, you're not homeless, and you'll never starve."

She smiled and kissed him gently. "Thank you, Steve."

He hummed and dragged her back for another toe-curling kiss before he let her go. "I'll let you go get dressed. Ask Friday to get me if you need help."

"You just want to see me naked," she snickered, her wing caressing his thighs as she walked away.

"Honey, you're damn right." 

Her joyous laughter followed her out of the room. 

Once the outer door shut, Steve flopped over backward on his bed and stared at the ceiling, curling his fingers around the length of steel in his pants. He'd been achingly hard since he woke up, wanting nothing more than to slide his cock through the heat he could feel between her thighs. 

Their little makeout session hadn't helped things either. He felt like bees were humming beneath his skin, but not in a bad way. It was pleasant and stimulating, and he knew he was going to have to deal with the massive erection he was sporting before getting on with his day.

"Fucked. Totally fucked," he sighed, throwing an arm over his eyes. But he smiled a few seconds later. Even if he was totally fucked, Lily made it all worthwhile. 

He'd caught a fallen angel, and it looked like he was going to get to keep her.

***

Lily returned to her room, thankfully without meeting anyone in the hall. She didn't know what she would say if someone caught her coming out of Steve's room all flushed and happy, lips plump and tingling still from how his mouth lingered. 

She'd tell the truth, of course. Sleep was virtually impossible with her wing tied to her spine. If Steve hadn't found her in the dark last night, she likely would have crashed on the couch in the sunroom. Facedown on all those pillows she could handle, but spread out over Steve was even better.

Happiness bubbled up inside her at finding the Everlasting Love her mother spoke of. Even with the sorrow of her death weighing on Lily's heart, the rising tide of deep, abiding devotion filled her with fresh hope. 

She could do this. She could handle what came next because Steve was with her. Steve and the people who had gathered around her in her time of grief and bolstered her up, helped her for no reason other than they could and asked for nothing in return. 

Steve's family was amazing. 

Lily glanced at the clock and hurried across the room, the sudden desire to do something nice for everyone upon her. 

"Good morning, Officer Tangela."

Lily jumped. "Oh! Um, good morning. Friday, right?"

"That's right, ma'am."

"You… you can call me Lily."

"Alright, Lily." There was a slight smile in her voice. "Last night, I blocked two calls from the number you spoke to and took a message from your Captain. He would like to know, and I quote, "What the hell is going on," as Mr. Stark has requested you be made the NYPD's official liaison to the Avengers. Seeing as the Avengers have resisted every one of the NYPD's offers of a liaison officer, he's understandably perplexed."

Lily was pretty sure he was past perplexed and onto pissed. "I'll call him after breakfast," she sighed. 

"I have forwarded the inquiry to Director Fury. He will see to your reassignment with us."

Lily stared at herself in the bathroom mirror. "And what if I don't want to be reassigned?"

Silence, then Friday hesitantly asked, "You… don't?"

She scrubbed her hand over her face and went to grab the shampoo and conditioner from within the shower. Surprisingly, it was her brand. "God, Friday. I don't know! I don't have any clue how to do that. I'm a rookie for pity's sake! What the hell is a liaison?"

"A liaison officer is a person who liaises between two organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities. Generally, liaison officers are used to achieve the best utilization of resources or employment of services of one organization by another. Liaison officers often provide technical or subject matter expertise of their parent organization. Usually, an organization embeds a liaison officer into another organization to provide face-to-face coordination."

"Was that dictionary dot com?' Lily smirked.

"Wikipedia, actually."

Lily giggled and was surprised when Friday also chuckled. 

"They all want you here, Lily."

"Because I have wings and apparent abilities?" She didn't want to be just an oddity to them, even though she knew she wasn't. 

"They want you here because they feel the connection. As there is a connection between each of them, you too, fit into their unit. There is a family here for you. They are only trying to show you that you belong."

"It's been literally a day. How can they be so sure?"

"Should they be unsure? Mr. Stark and the others are very good at judging character. Last night's game night showed how well you integrate. Perhaps it is not part of your plan to join the Avengers, but perhaps plans can change?"

Lily ran warm water into the sink. "Maybe they can. Thank you, Friday."

"Any time, Lily."

"Hey, Friday?" she asked, wanting to catch her before she left. 

"Yes, Lily?"

"What time does everyone usually eat breakfast?"

"As it is Clint's turn and he is not here, everyone will be fending for themselves. I expect they will begin to assemble in thirty minutes."

"Could… could you ask them to come in an hour? As long as no one is starving."

"Of course, Lily." Again there was that smile in her voice. "I'll see the message relayed."

"Thank you!" Excitement set her free wing rustling as Lily quickly washed her hair.

***

Thirty minutes later, she was barefoot in the kitchen wearing a sunny yellow strapless dress that flitted around her knees. The bright white daisies patterning the hem were cheerful, and Lily wanted to feel cheerful. Her mother would be unhappy if she spent weeks grim-faced and grieving. 

And cooking always made Lily happy. Cooking for others even more so. She gave the bread soaking in Coquito a final poke to see if it was absorbed enough, then dotted the dish with butter and slid it and its sister into the oven. From the rack below she removed golden and crunchy granola pie shells she popped into the freezer to cool before filling.

Dozens of eggs were quickly beaten and set aside to be scrambled with tomatoes and pesto, or ham and sausage, giving the group two options for breakfast. 

Then she turned toward the mound of bacon. The recipe she wanted to make was a surprise for Tony, a bit of teasing to go along with her thank you. As she was pouring brown sugar into a pan, Bruce walked through the door.

"I couldn't resist any longer. Something smells incredible."

Lily chuckled and finished with the sugar. "I was making granola pie crusts."

"I can smell them down the hall," he grinned, peeking in the oven. "And French toast?"

"Coquito French toasted made with Puerto Rican eggnog," Lily smiled.

"Tony's going to love you if you put rum in the French toast."

Lily laughed and nodded. "Yes, but I'm making this for Tony." She picked up the first strip of bacon and pressed it into the brown sugar.

"Why are you ruining perfectly good bacon?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not. I'm making Billionaire Bacon." She giggled when Bruce burst out laughing.

"Oh, he'll really love that! Can I help?"

She motioned him closer. "Coat both sides and lay them on the pan."

Bruce took over the bacon, and Lily bounced over to the freezer where she removed her granola shells. Then to the fridge where an enormous tub of Greek yogurt waited. 

"That's Pepper's yogurt."

Lily glanced a Bruce.  "Is that a problem?"

"No, just fair warning. She's not much of a carnivore. Likes her twigs and berries."

"Ah, then she'll like this." Lily had already prepped the fruit for the top of the tart and after filling the shells with the thick creamy yogurt, began layering the fruit on in a pretty pattern.

"No strawberries on one. Pepper is allergic," he murmured, intent on coating the bacon.

"Friday told me. I was planning on making one without." She smiled at him, happy he cared so much for the woman.

"How's the wing?

She shrugged. "Better, I guess. It was a little twingy this morning when I changed clothes and had to rewrap it, but otherwise okay." She'd almost called for help, but between teeth and hands, she'd managed to get her dress up without letting her wing fall.

"Good. Fury sent a bottle of witch hazel and vitamin C to me and said they were for you. When you come down for more pictures today, remind me to give them to you."

She blushed at finding out the director had done that for her. "Thank you, Bruce."

"Why is there a lady owl in the kitchen?"

Lily whipped her head up to find a man with short hair and an arm full of tattoos watching her like his namesake.

"Clint!" Bruce grinned. "We didn't expect you back till later."

"Yeah, huh. Bruce, there's a girl with wings in our kitchen."

His open disbelief made Lily giggle. "I'm Lily. I had an accident in the park, and Steve helped me."

"Yeah, huh." He sidled closer, eyeing her warily. "And those are real? No joke."

Lily couldn't resist curling her free one forward and stretching it out to flick him in the chin. "As real as I am."

"Holy shit. There's an owl in our kitchen!" He appeared to grow more excited. "Can I touch them?"

"Barton! Stop pestering Lily," Steve huffed from behind him. 

She giggled, not minding Clint and his curiosity at all, and went to put the prepared pans of bacon in the oven. 

"Second question?" Clint held up his hand. "What the hell smells so good?"

"She made French toast with rum in it," Bruce snickered.

"Oh, my God," Clint's eyes went all misty. "I think I love you."

Lily laughed, but Steve shoved Clint out of the way.

"Go find your own angel," he huffed, crossing the room to press a kiss to her temple. 

"Oh, so it's like that?" Clint snickered.

"Yeah." Lily smiled as she held out a piece of kiwi for Steve. "It's very much like that." A blush warmed her face when he sucked the fruit from her fingers rather than take it himself.

"Yeah, you did," Sam smirked at Steve, leaning against the entrance. "I see feather head's back." He nodded to Clint.

"Watch it bird brain," the archer smirked.

"Wow, something smells delicious," Peter mumbled, stumbling into the kitchen with a head of messy curls, sleepy eyes, and plaid pajamas that reminded her very much of the pants Steve wore last night.

"It's almost ready," Lily smiled and went to wash her hands after Steve had licked her fingers. "But the table needs to be set, and I need to get to the stove," she said pointedly to Clint who was standing in front of it.

"Whoops." He veered out of the way. "Egg scrambles?" Lily nodded. "On it." He flipped a couple of large skillets out of a drawer and had the gas range on, lit, and warming pans before Lily could protest. "Tomato pesto in one, and ham and sausage in the other. A lady after my own heart."

"How can we help?" Steve asked, his hand gentle on her waist. 

"I've got this. I don't need help," she murmured, flustered with all eyes on her. She'd wanted to make them breakfast as a thank you. That was difficult to achieve with everyone participating. 

"Steve and others will set table," Wanda said from the doorway, giving the men a pointed look. "Clint will make eggs as Clint is very good at eggs. Vision likes to make juice," she said as the android phased through the fridge, pitcher in hand and large smile on his face. "The rest, let Lily do."

Lily smiled gratefully at the woman, knowing Wanda could probably pick up on her thoughts. Sufficiently sorted, the men left, muttering about stubborn women and not being able to snack. Even Steve pouted, but Lily shooed him on his way. 

Wanda threw her a wink and settled on a stool at the edge of the island. _"You did not have to do this, Lily."_

Startled, Lily jumped and shot Wanda a shocked look. It made the redhead grin wickedly before tapping her temple. _"Think your reply. Is but a conscious thread. Nothing deeper."_

_"That's incredible!"_

Wanda chuckled. _"It is nice when one desires privacy."_

 _"I wanted to do this. Everyone has been so nice. It's been a long time since things have been easy."_ Not that she ever remembered them being that easy.

_"You have a place here, Lily. A family. You're not alone."_

Lily went misty-eyed and shot a glance at Wanda. " _You sure you're not reading deeper?"_

Wanda smiled and shook her head. " _You're projecting a little. I can feel the conflict. It makes them antsy."_

She glanced toward the dining table where the men working kept shooting Lily uncertain looks. "Fucking wings."

Wanda snickered. "You will figure it out. Time and practice. We will help each other."

"I hope so," Lily sighed, tired of making people feel what she was feeling. It seemed like the longer her wings were out, the worse it got.

"Mmm, we're keeping you," Natasha purred on her way through the kitchen, stopping only to steal a melon ball.

Lily grinned, pleased and embarrassed by all the praise. She was only trying to do something nice.

The sound of running feet cut off any further conversation when Tony Stark ran down the hallway, bounced off the wall, and almost fell in the door. "Why do I smell Coquito French toast?"

Lily blinked at him. "How did you know it was Coquito?"

He walked toward her eyes bright and shining. "Puerto Rican nanny. I swear to Thor if you made Coquito French toast I will keep you. You will never want for anything, but you will have to make it again."

Lily laughed. "And here I was making Billionaire bacon just for you. Had I known I could stop at the French toast, I would have."

"Billionaire bacon?" he grinned. "What's that? Where's that? Why for me?"

"Have a little patience, Tony," Pepper quipped, looking put together and sleek already this morning.

Lily glanced at Wanda. _"Does she ever just schlep around in yoga pants and no makeup?"_

_"Occasionally, but not usually. Pepper is very busy and often in meetings. She likes her power suits."_

Power suits were a good name for them. They made her look like a badass boss. 

"Let's get out of Lily's way so she can finish this lovely breakfast," Pepper smiled, taking Tony by the arm to drag him away.

"But, but, Billionaire bacon!" he whined.

"You'll see soon enough," she huffed shooing him into the dining area. 

Wanda winked and followed Vision laden with pitchers of juice into the other room.

"Mornin', darlin'," Bucky grinned, last through the door. "Something smells fantastic. You cook like this; we're just gonna keep you."

Lily blushed as the timer went off on the stove. "I like to cook. It's no trouble."

"Good! She can take my day," Clint smirked. "Won't you, owl?"

"It's Angel, actually," Bucky snickered.

Lily threw a piece of banana at him. "If you're going to tease, friend Bucky, you can take the French toast out of the oven."

He beamed. "Anything for you, Angel face."

"Stop flirting with my Angel!" Steve bellowed from the dining table.

Bucky snickered. "You snooze, you lose, Rogers!"

"Don't make me come in there, Barnes!"

"Both of you shut it!" Lily shouted, surprising everyone.

"Ooh, a screech owl!" Clint giggled.

Lily snapped him in the thigh with her wing. "Watch it, featherhead."

"Hey, now! I'm not the one with actual feathers." He shook a spatula at her.

She smiled smugly. "Don't burn the eggs, Hawkeye."

"This one's lippy," Clint smirked at Bucky. "I like her!"

"She's got a mouth on her alright," the former Winter Soldier chuckled, setting the glass pans on the counter. He wasn't using an oven mitt, just his metal hand.

Lily rolled her eyes, ignoring them both before turning and taking the crisp bacon from the oven. She broke the strips into chunks and placed them in a shallow dish, while Clint turned the big skillets out into more bowls. 

Granola tarts in one arm and bacon in the other, Lily walked into the dining room and set them on the table, followed by Bucky balancing pans of French toast and Clint with the egg scrambles. The seat beside Steve now sported a backless stool, and she smiled gratefully at him before taking her place.

"You got something to say, Lilliput?" Tony asked as everyone gathered around.

Lily clutched her hands together in her lap, cheeks pink with the staring. "I just wanted to say thank you. You've all been so kind and considerate and really, really helpful. Between all your help yesterday, Pepper and Tony, I was able to get through one of the toughest days I've ever had," her voice broke and tears threatened. A big warm hand wrapped around hers and Lily leaned closer to Steve. She cleared her throat and took a cleansing breath. "I don't know how I would have done it without your support, so thank you. Yes, Tony, I made Billionaire bacon just for you." She slid the bowl closer and watched him eye it before picking out a piece and putting it in his mouth. When his eyes rolled back behind his blue-tinted glasses, she giggled.

"Mine." He took the bowl and placed it on his plate. "You all heard her. She made it for me." 

"Tony," Pepper huffed. "You're sharing." She took the bowl away and handed it to Peter.

"But all of you have really just been," again Lily swallowed the lump in her throat, "so wonderful. Breakfast was the least I could do."

"Darlin' you don't gotta make us breakfast to say thank you," Bucky sent her a soft smile from across the table, "but we appreciate it. Especially as you saved us from the madman's cooking." He jerked his head at Clint. 

"Excuse me! You said you like my cooking?" Clint gasped. "And while I don't know what they all did to deserve this, baby owl," he toasted Lily with his extremely large coffee mug, "I'm happy to be able to enjoy it." 

There were hearty 'here, here's' all around the table as everyone began to dig in.

Natasha patted Lily's knee. "As thank you's go, this one is top-notch."

She beamed at Natasha. "Oh! Wait, I forgot." Jumping up from her seat, Lily fairly skipped into the kitchen and rummaged around to find the sifter and powdered sugar. "Don't dig into that French toast yet!" she called from the pantry, having asked Friday to help her find things when she'd started her breakfast rush.

"Too late!" Sam shouted.

It made her chuckle. They really did have the best dynamic. Gathering what she needed, Lily trotted back into the other room, sugar and sifter in hand, grinning at the table enjoying the fruits of her labour when a whirlwind came through the common area, barreling inside from the outer doors.

Wild blonde hair and electric blue eyes zeroed in on Lily, freezing her in her tracks. 

"Thor!" Peter cried, waving from the table.

Thor. The God of Thunder. Prince of Asgard. Lily hadn't expected to meet him and was struck a little dumb. He was a _very_ big dude.

When he stalked toward her, scowl deep and menacing, Lily lost her grip on the bag of powdered sugar, and it tumbled to the floor. 

"Put them away," his voice full of thunder rumbled through the room. 

Lily backed away, terrified. "What?"

"Put them away!" he bellowed. 

Her view of Thor became that of Steve's back when he appeared between them. "Back off, Thor. You're scaring her."

Lily slipped into the space at Steve's back and curled there, heart pounding, more afraid then she'd been meeting Fury. Was Asgard who her Father's people feared? Was she about to be struck down by a God?

A strange metallic thump and sharply drawn breath from Steve had her peeking around his arm. The hammer sat on the floor with Thor knelt beside it. 

Shock didn't begin to cover what Lily was feeling. 

"Forgive me, Lady Seraphim. Making you afraid was not my intention, but you must put your wings away!" he said harshly. "Heimdall saw their light across nine realms. Put them away!" 

"She can't!" Steve snarled, his hand coming around to hold her tightly to his back. "She broke one."

"Broke?" Thor frowned. He rose and patted his pockets before pulling out a vial of blue liquid. "Drink this. It will heal instantly."

"I… don't think so," Lily muttered, eyeing the blue stuff.

"Maybe you should tell us what this is all about, Point Break?" Tony said, already on his feet.

"The lady is a Seraphim, perhaps the last of her kind. She must be protected at all costs." Thor thrust the vial at Steve.

He didn't take it either. "A few more words, pal."

"She is a Seraphim of the race Angeliki from the Celestial worlds. Millennia ago, her kind was hunted by the Daemons to near extinction. Mother met them as a girl on Vanaheim. They were looking for a world to hide on. Too different from the people of Vanaheim, they eventually came to Midgard where they could blend into the diversity of your kind. Your people called them Angels."

"What?" Lily whispered.

"Yours is a cosmic race, my lady. Highly coveted for your abilities. You are light, the brightest of white light. The Daemons are the blackest of the dark. Evil as of yet unseen in this world. They will be drawn to your wings. So please, I beg you, drink! Then put them away. The longer they are out, the easier you will be to find."

Steve took the vial and turned to face her. "Angel, I trust him."

Lily searched his eyes before taking the vial from him. "If I turn into something weird," she mumbled, pulling the stopper from the top and pouring the contents into her mouth. She barely managed to swallow before coughing and sputtering, "Oh, God, that was vile!"

"It will need a minute," Thor murmured. 

Bruce came to her side and looked at her for permission before removing the clip from her wing. His touch was gentle as he manipulated the area. "Huh, that stuff works."

"Of course it does," Thor huffed.

"I'm very confused," Lily murmured, clutching Steve's waist.

He gently stroked her cheek. "You wanted answers. It looks like Thor has them."

Bruce unbound the wing from her back, and Lily gave it a small flick. When it didn't hurt, she moved farther into the room, skirting Thor - still uncertain of the big man - to stretch both wings high and wide behind her. 

"Magnificent," Thor murmured. 

Lily ignored his appreciation. When nothing pulled or ached, she lowered them down and slapped them together, putting them away. Only then did she feel the strain they'd placed on her back and groaned at the lack of weight. 

"Lily?" Steve rushed forward and grabbed her by the elbows. 

"That's the longest they've ever been out at one time. They were heavier than I realized." She smiled to reassure him and rolled her shoulders. 

"Your Everlast is the Captain?" Thor's mouth spread into a broad grin. "Well, then. Things just got more interesting."

"I think Thor better join us for breakfast and explain what the hell is going on," Natasha muttered.

"Lady Seraphim? You truly do not know?" He stared at her like she had two heads. 

"My name is Lily. My mother is- was human. I don't know anything about… Seraphim?" she murmured.

"Your Father?" Thor asked gently.

"Gone by the time I was three."

He shook his head. "Lady Lily, I am truly sorry. No wonder you did not know."

"Now what, Thor?" Bucky asked.

He called Mjolnir to his hand. "That her wings work like beacons to draw the Daemons right to her." **  
**


End file.
